The Overuse of Three-Bets

When people start studying poker strategy, three-betting is one of the first things they learn since it is a rather easy concept to grasp.  All a three-bet involves is betting over the top of someone who has just made a raise at the table.  And three-bets are definitely useful when you know how to properly make that third bet and get the maximum value out of your hand.  However, lately it seems that the concept of three-betting is just becoming fashionable rather than a useful tool.

Whether it’s the recent influx of strategy articles centering on three-bets or the fact that TV commentators are constantly talking about three-bets nowadays, it’s hard to deny that people are overusing them.  Every time I get online I manage to play with somebody who wants to three-bet every 5 or 6 hands.  But to me, people are just fooling themselves when they overuse three-bets.

For starters, you have to be sure that your hand is the best at the table when trying to pull off a successful three-bet.  Otherwise you’re just raising more money for someone else to take from you.  Another thing you need to make sure of when three-betting is that you’re getting the maximum value out of the wager.  Nobody is going to call your re-raise if their hand isn’t strong enough and they’re a tight player.  On the other hand, you also need to be mindful of getting aggressive players to commit as much to the pot as possible with a three-bet by not underbetting. 

It’s a delicate balance that I think most people have forgotten when they use three-bets, but I’m glad because it’s not money that is coming out of my pocket when three-bets are misused.

Potential Poker Triple Crown Winners

When Roland de Wolfe claimed WSOP gold he became only the second player other than Gavin Griffin to win a WSOP, EPT, and WPT event.  This is essentially the triple crown of poker, and it’s obvious from the fact that only two people have accomplished this feat that it’s not easy to do.  Of course I don’t think that de Wolfe and Griffin will be forever immortalized in this class since there are other players capable of joining this group.

One of these players has got to be Jason Mercier who recently won his first WSOP bracelet this year.  In addition to his gold bracelet Mercier has also won 2 different EPT events, and we should certainly see him entering some WPT events in the future.

Canadian Daniel Negreanu is another person who I think could eventually accomplish the triple crown feat since he’s already got 4 WSOP bracelets, 2 WPT titles, and has made several recent appearances in the EPT.  If Negreanu keeps traveling to Europe he’s likely to win a title over there soon.

One player that is lightly regarded in the poker world, but could definitely win the triple crown is Sebastian Ruthenberg.  Ruthenberg has made a bigger name for himself lately after winning EPT Barcelona and defeating Chris Ferguson heads-up to take the WSOP in the Seven Card Stud championship.  Ruthenberg has also had some solid cashes in WPT events which means it’s only a matter of time before he wins one.

David Benyamine is one more person who I think could accomplish the triple crown some day.  He’s already experienced the winner’s circle in the WSOP and WPT, and he’s played well in the EPT.  Benyamine is one hot streak away from adding an EPT title to his resume.

Should Parents teach their Kids Poker?

There are many things that parents would like to pass on to their kids some day.  A few notable things that come to mind right away are a good work ethic, important life skills, and a sense of what is right and wrong.  But I doubt that you’d find many parents ranking poker up there with the things they want to teach their kids as they’re growing up.

This subject recently came to my attention when I saw a forum thread asking whether or not parents would teach their kids the game of poker.  Since this was a poker forum, there was a high rate of people who said they would teach their children poker since the game offers many values beyond just winning money.

One value poker teaches kids is discipline since every successful poker player must exercise discipline at the table or they’ll bust out quickly.  Along with discipline players must also be patient too since you must pick your spots in every cash game and tournament where you can make a big move.

Overcoming adversity is another great virtue of poker since every player is going to come across hard times where plays just don’t seem to be going their way.  Tilt is definitely an underlying theme here too because players must control emotions during rough stretches as well or they risk losing a significant amount of their bankroll.  There are plenty of other great things kids can learn from poker as well.

The only problem is that parents who don’t understand poker will quickly dismiss it as gambling and try to steer their kids away from it.  And I don’t blame parents for doing this since plenty of people don’t know how to control themselves at the poker table.  But I still think poker teaches children some worthwhile life skills in the end.

Why is Poker On TV So Mesmerizing?

I can seem to figure it out. I mean baseball is boring to watch on TV, Tennis sucks too. Even some football and Soccer gains are like watching paint dry.

But every time I walk by a TV with ANYthing poker on it, I stop dead in my tracks. Whether its some charity poker crap or WPT finals, I stuck there watching.

It’s really confusing, its not like Phil Helmuth is very charasmatic in any way, or that the majority of pro poker players are great to look at…If you put some WPT tour members in a police lineup with a NASA scientist, a math teacher and a meter maid, there’s no way I could tell any of them apart.

So this begs the question – Why do I LOVE watching it?

Pretty soon, I’ll have to sell my TV, and never go into Best Buy again.

Welcome to Poker Big Mouth

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If you’re nice enough to hang around and do some reading, you’ll find oodles of Poker related News, Strategies and tidbits.

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Cheers!

-PBM