Tricks to Beat Poker Regulars
Regulars are those players you frequently see at the online cash tables. They’re usually multi-tabling many tables at the same time and are very serious. They typically adopt a tight and aggressive style of poker. Many regs are average or slightly above and are making money from Rakeback schemes but they can be a nuisance to play against. That’s why I’m offering a couple of tips for you to use next time you face off against them.
3 Bet Them Pre-Flop in Position
A 3 bet is just another word for a re-raise. This is an effective counter weapon to regs who raise a wide range in late position. By 3 betting them you take control of the pot. You say to them “this is my pot”. This forces them to either call out of position (something they are loathed to do), fold, or put in a 4 bet.
Choosing which hands to 3 bet regs with can be tricky. If you’re not confident, use a poker cheat sheet from any of the major poker training sites. They usually give tips on hands that are good for 3 bettings.
Check-Raise Dry Flops
Regs love to bet on flops, particularly when its one on one and you’ve checked to them. They think they can just win it with a small bet and to be fair, they’re right, people do fold too much to flop bets. How can we counter this? Simple, we pick flops with a dry texture and check-raise them if we miss.
A dry flop is one that is very disconnected with no obvious straight or flush draws. An example of a dry flop is one like eight, deuce, and a king with all different suits. These flops work well to check-raise bluff as our opponent is unlikely to have a hand strong enough to continue. Unless they have something like pocket nines or better, they are forced to fold or get creative.
As you can see, there are a few little tricks we can use against regulars in low stake games. If you put in some liberal re-raises when you have position and check-raise the dry flops from the blinds you should get some success. As with any strategy, don’t overdo it or they will get on to you. Use the tips sparingly and pick your moments and you will increase your win rate.