Conservative Crust Poker

When you mention UltimateBet Rakeback to poker players, it is surprising how many do not know what rakeback is or what the benefits of rakeback are. Though it is not surprising a hobby level poker player never heard of rakeback, there are some more seasoned players have yet to discover rake back as well.

Rakeback Equals Extra Poker Profits

Extra profits to the poker bankroll are the main benefit of playing poker with rakeback. Compared to playing poker without the benefit of rakeback, you will see your profits from poker dramatically increase. Even low limit poker players will benefit greatly from playing poker with rakeback.

For example, a small stakes player who plays poker more as a hobby at cash tables of 5c/10c stakes can rake up to $10 a month. Over a year, they would have raked up to $120. Therefore, if he were playing with a 40% rakeback deal, he would receive $48 back in rakeback. So, that is an extra $48 he has to play with.

Then on the other side of the scale, the high stakes poker players. These players can generate a mass amount of rake over a year. For example, a serious poker player that plays stakes of $5/$10 and will usually multi table four tables at a time will rake well over $1000 a month. Over a year, that is $12,000 he would have paid in rake. So 40% of that would be $4800 extra a year from rakeback.

Increase your stakes

Another benefit from Ultimate Bet Poker rakeback is that you can increase the stakes that you play quicker than you would without rakeback. This is because with rakeback, as previously mentioned, your bankroll will increase at a faster level. Moreover, as your bankroll increases, so can the level you play at.

So you end up being able to move up stakes quicker than you would have without rakeback. Hence, you actually end up earning more from rakeback again as you have increased you stakes, and as a result increase your bankroll even further.

Turns you into a winning player

On the rare occasion where you are a break-even poker player, a player that moves between 5% positive and negative ROI, can actually turn into a winning poker player. This is because if you are a break-even poker player the extra money you make from rakeback will actual increase your profits and turn you into a profitable poker player.

The main thing to realize about rakeback is that every one who signs up to a new site that offers rakeback is entitled to it. And you would be crazy to turn down free money, which is what rakeback truly is.

Controlling the pot is something every poker player needs to learn to do in order to become a successful poker player. Learning to control the pot is one of the tools you need to stop you from going broke in a tournament. You need to understand the true value of your hands so you know when you are raising and when you are calling a bet.

Checking in front

Realizing when it is best to keep a carbon poker pot small is one of the best ways to increase your profits and decrease you losses. Knowing which situations are best to check in front rather than calling is a good way to limit the amount you have to put into a pot.

For example, if you where on the big blind and have one caller from mid position as well as the small blind in the hand and you have Q-7 with a flop like Q-6-5. The chances are you are in front, but you are also out of position. If you check and then the player after you bets, you can call. You can also use this strategy all the way to the river as your hand has good showdown value against one player. In this situation, you are best to check rather than raise initially, as you have a marginal hand and your hand has too much showdown value.

Checking or calling behind

This is another example of how to control a pot. What you are looking to do is limit you chances of losing all your chips or giving your opponent the chance to re-raise. For example, you have A-Q in mid position and a tight player raises UTG. You hand has a lot of value, yet you know your opponent is strong. Therefore, you are best to call.

The poker flop came A-9-6. So like before you are still in the same position, as the only info you have is that he is strong. So he raises, you are again best to call. You hand has a lot of showdown value, but it is also not overly strong. Turn comes 10. He bets again. You just call. River 2. If you have called to the river and your opponent has a hand similar to you, the likelihood is he will just check. If he has a monster like trips, he will probably value bet.

However, he may try to value bet if he is bluffing as well. So again, you are best just to call if he value bets, as your hand has value. Or check if he checks in front. So he checks, so you check. He shows A-K, which beats your A-Q. However, you have greatly limited your losses and could have easily gone bust if you had re-raised any of his previous bets.

So because you controlled the pot you limited your loses which will also in return increase your profits in the end.

It has been argued that players involved in rakeback programs should not adjust their style of play. While this may be true in trying to prevent players from entering the mindset of juicing the pot for the sole purpose of generating a higher rake, it might not be true as a blanket statement. There may be an instance where table conditions dictate adjustment in posture for the lone purpose of collecting pkr rakeback.

A poker player may be well served playing weak-tight when building a bankroll and playing in an extremely aggressive game. In theory, the poker table should be full. Rake should hit the maximum allowed most of the time, and the table stakes should be the lowest stakes possible under the rake structure you are playing in.

We sit at a .25-.50 no limit table at FullTilt Poker. Worth noting, the max rake at a full table of this stakes at Tilt is a maximum of $3. While the .25-.50 NL table is not the bottom of the rake structure, this table is better able to generate the max rake more often. The .10-.25 cent table is the true bottom of the $3 max rake tables – for the record.

The table conditions are quite loose and wild, with the flop occurring a majority of the time, and the rake maxing out more often than not. If we fold each round of our blinds, we lose 75 cents per orbit. This means in thirty-six hands, we lose $3 to the blinds. Each time the rake reaches maximum, we are credited with 33.3 cents in rake – providing the table is full. At 27% rakeback, which is the most allowed by FullTilt – we earn 9 cents.

In unrealistic circumstances, if the rake caps for every hand played, we realize a net gain of five cents per orbit. We lose seventy-five cents per orbit to blinds, while making eighty cents per orbit from rakeback at a 27% rate.

In more realistic circumstances, even at the wildest of tables, no pot is maxed in rake every hand, nor does anyone fold every hand. However, if half of the hands reach a maximum rake, we make 40 cents per orbit in pkr.com rakeback. If one hand additional hand reaches less than max rake, we make five cents. So, we count on 45 cents in rakeback per orbit at this table.

Add to the mix that while we do not want to play out of the blinds, we will gladly play from position. When we do so, we end up stealing the pot preflop one in three times, which nets us $1.25 per steal on average. A second time we lose $2 and the third time, we gain $5. Over the course of an orbit, our net profit including rakeback is an average profit of $1.11 per orbit. This makes a compelling case to play weak tight on a wild table.

Slow playing a hand on Full Tilt Poker means to play a hand in a manner that suggests the strength of your hand is far weaker than it actually is. By playing a hand slow, you can trick your opposition into thinking you are weak, when you are in fact strong. Slow playing often lets the opposing player feel comfortable betting into you aggressively until you spring the trap at the very end.

Standard tight-aggressive poker strategy suggests that players should bet aggressively with strong or made hands in order to build big pots with big hands and avoid the problem of winning small pots with big hands, the occasional slow play is a great way to trap your opposition and change up your game.

How to Slow Play

Typically when out of position and in possession of a monster, checking to a strong, aggressive poker player is all it takes to set the slow play into motion. When the player bets into you, sometimes a mere call is justified, while other times going for the check-raise is appropriate. Assess each move on a case-by-case basis. Whether calling or check-raising, eventually the trap needs to be sprung. At some point, you will have to bet or raise. Use good judgment in determining when the best time to spring the trap is

When to Slow Play

You typically want to slow play when you have flopped a monster on FullTilt and your hand has little chance of being outdrawn. However, by checking you believe your opposition will bet or will benefit greatly from a free card. Additionally, a slow play is well timed when you have been running over the table, and the players are becoming frustrated – looking to bully you for a bit

Dangers of Slow Playing

While slow playing is designed to trap the opposition, from time to time a player can stick around and make a hand cheaply. Thus, your flopped monster gets rivered. The main danger of slow playing is being outdrawn by a second best hand.

Unless you have a very strong hand, slow playing is a great way to let others in to beat you, and spew your own chips. Slow playing is an effective technique to change gears and trap opposing players. By using the slow play effectively and sparingly, you will rise up the ranks of the poker world.