A Strategy for Winning at $1/2 Pot-limit Draw Poker Online

A STRATEGY FOR POT-LIMIT STRAIGHT DRAW POKER

Here you shall find a complete strategy made up of four tables for playing pot-limit draw poker on the Internet, suitable for $1/2 tables.

The Difference in Charts between Fixed Limit and Pot-limit

 In fixed limit, the amount of money you put into the pot is fixed; but in pot-limit the maximum amount of money you can put in is equal to the pot. This means you can bet more. As a result, you must have slightly better hands to open, call, and raise with before the draw since someone can bet or raise more than in fixed. However, by following the charts set forth, you should not commit errors like calling with weak hands or opening wrongly.  Tables P1 to P4 have been computed especially for $1/2 pot limit draw poker as played on the Internet using Zadeh’s book, Winning Poker Systems from 1974. My charts are approximations only – that means they are not 100 per cent accurate and winning is not guaranteed, but your chances of winning may be increased if you follow the charts. To understand the `Position’ numbers, please scroll down to my September post and view the diagram of a poker table.

Strategy for the First Round – Pot Limit

Opening Requirements

Table P1: What to Open and Raise
POSITION	OPEN	RAISE
5	KK	3322
4	QQ	AA
3	TT	KK
2	88	TT
1	22	44

As an example of using Table P1, in 5^th position bet $1 if you have at least a pair of Kings and raise $2 with at least two pair: threes and twos. In Table P1 you can see that the hand to open (bet or raise) is one or two notches higher than for fixed limit.

Calling Requirements

Table P2: Calling against One Opponent who Opens (Bets) $1
Opener’s	Opener’s	Your Position
Position	Worst Hand	5 TO 2	1 TO 0
	2 pair	JJ22	TT22
	AA	4422	3322
5	KK	3322	AA
4	QQ	AA	AA
3	JJ	KK	QQ
2	99	QQ	JJ
	77	TT	TT
1	44	99	77
	Q	33	22

Table P2 for calling someone who opens (bets) $1 is exactly the same as for fixed limit, except that the column: Opener’s Position has been changed. Only refer to that column when you know nothing about your opponent. Assume he plays well. Therefore, in 5^th position he will open (bet) at least KK, so you should call with 3322 in position 5 – 2 but call with only AA in position 1 or 0. Once you know what your opponent opens on, make a note of it and disregard `Opener’s Position’ column; for instance a bad player “opens 77 from pos. 4” might mean he bets $1 with a pair of Sevens before the draw when there are four people left to act. Now you can call him on TT!

Table P3: Calling against One Opponent who Opens (Raises) $2
Opener’s	Opener’s	Your Position
Position	Worst Hand	5 TO 2	1 TO 0
5	2 pair	KK55	JJ33
4	AA	8877	3322
3	KK	3322	3322
	QQ	AA	AA
2	JJ	AA	KK
	99	QQ	QQ
	77	JJ	1010
1	44	99	88
	Q	22	22

Once again, Table P3: calling against someone who opens (raises) $2 is the same as for fixed limit, except for opener’s position column. You can use this chart to play effectively against people whom you do not know and also against people whom you have observed. It is intended for use against a single opponent.

However, what if there are two players? What if the first guy raises $2 and another person calls, it is your turn to act – what to do? If you know nothing, call according to the chart but raise the requirement up one notch: QQ becomes KK, 3322 becomes JJ33.

Special: Before the draw, the pot could become bigger than in fixed-limit. For example, the blinds equal $1.5 – if someone bets $2, player 2 could raise to $3.5 making $7 total in pot. To raise the opener, player 2 needs to have a very good hand as Table P4 reveals. Hence, if someone opens and gets raised the pot (limit) expect to be up against KK22 on the average. Against KK22 you need to have at least a 25% chance of winning in a showdown. Therefore, do not call a pot-limit raiser unless you have at least two pair Aces high.

Raising Requirements

Table P4: Raising
Opener’s	Opener’s	Min. Raising
Position*	Worst Hand	Hand
	AA	888
5	KK	222
4	QQ	AA55
3	JJ	KK22
2	99	JJ33
	77	8877
1	44	3322
	Q	QQ

*Assumes the opener has bet.

Table P4: Raising, is the biggest change to fixed limit. The minimum raising hands in the table are computed based on needing an 80% chance of winning in a showdown. If there are two others in the pot and you are considering raising, then increase requirements up one notch (8877 becomes JJ33).

Strategy for the Final Round

The strategy for fixed limit is exactly the same after the draw as for pot-limit. That means, once the first round is over, simply refer to Table 6 for betting and Tables 8 and 9 for calling in my September post. Table 6 betting shows you how to bet after the draw against one or two opponents. Tables 8 and 9 shows you how to call against one opponent depending on the pot odds (that is, the ratio of the `bets in pot’ to the `total pot,’ for example if there is $10 in the pot and it costs $5 to call then there are two bets in pot).  These tables should cover most situations after the draw in pot-limit. Generally, do not raise in pot-limit after the draw unless you have at least QQQ.

How much to bet?

In pot-limit poker, some players will bet more when they have a really good hand and bet less when they have a borderline hand, but if you do this then observant opponents will be able to gauge the strength of your hand just by the way you bet! Alternatively, you could bet the limit always! However, this is not advised as you will probably be over-betting. You must therefore devise your own strategy from which you can bet and raise and still entice others to call with weaker hands – all the while disguising betting habits so as not to tip off opponents.

In Summary

·         Before the draw, bet and raise according to Table P1. If someone bets $1 then call according to Table P2, if instead they raise $2 then call according to Table P3; in both cases, increase requirements by one notch if there are two other players. If someone opens, and another player raises the pot limit, only call if you have AA22 or better.

·         Raise before the draw as per Table P4.

·         For the second round, please refer to Tables 6, 8 and 9 in my previous September post. Since the tables are all over the place, you might find it easiest to copy and print the tables off directly from your web browser or in Excel or even write the tables down on paper by hand.

It is hoped that with these tables you will have a greater chance of winning than you did before. At the very least, you should now have a good idea of approximately how to play with few errors. As you gain experience in pot-limit, you will develop an `instinct’ for when players are betting or raising out of the ordinary, in a way that suggests they are bluffing or unwittingly making basic but blatant calling errors. Remember to take notes on all players. As you play more, you might decide to vary your strategy from the charts – sometimes playing weak, other times playing strong and I will make a forthcoming post about this tactic soon. Hence, bookmark this web site now and check back often! If you have questions, comments or suggestions, then email me at david6779@yahoo.com.

Tables for Pot-Limit Draw

Many of you may enjoy playing pot-limit draw poker online but may not know exactly what hands to open on call or raise with. I have put up a simple poll above that you should fill out. The poll asks whether you want to see tables for pot-limit draw. If you want to see tables then tick “YES”; alternatively, you can click “NO.” In pot-limit draw games, players can bet up to the limit of what is in the pot instead of a fixed amount – this can make games more profitable. If you want to play and win at pot-limit then you will need different tables than the ones I created for fixed limit.