Level up your poker skills with the latest Ignition YT videos

With a solid understanding of poker strategy, you can turn a poker table into your personal ATM. You can rake in those chips like leaves in the yard, but it takes a bit of studying. Fortunately, class is in session at the Ignition YouTube channel! We’ve put out some decent poker tips to help players level up and gain an edge against the opposition.

Check out these poker tutorials below on hand reading, poker ranges, and more. Soon, you’ll be one step closer to becoming the shark at the table.

1. How to Read Poker Hands Like a Pro

What is your opponent holding? The process of narrowing it down with accuracy is known as “hand reading.” Other players give us tons of information about their hand. Our Team Ignition streamers all do this well. Every little detail can help indicate what another player is holding, so we need to be mindful of everything that happens at the table.

Hand reading involves several key factors that will help you define your opponent’s hand range:

Style. First is your opponent’s style. Notice the players at the table who seem to never be in a hand. Those players are playing tight, and probably have the goods when they finally participate. Also keep an eye on the players who seem to be in a lot of hands. These players may be playing loose. You also need to know whether they are aggressive or passive. Aggressive players bet bigger and more often. Passive players check, call, and wait for others to get in the driver’s seat.

Tip: You don’t have to be scared of loose aggressive players having the goods. Call them with decent hands and hang on for the ride. They will bleed chips. Likewise, don’t try to bully the tight players much if they’re betting into a pot. They have a decent hand and probably won’t let it go.

Position: Early bettors probably have a strong hand (a high pocket pair, high suited connectors, etc.). Late limpers are just looking to see a flop (10 8 off).

Actions: people generally bet with a decent hand, and check with a weak hand. Of course, there are exceptions to this principle, but hand reading starts at the foundations.

One helpful way to get started that you’ll see if you watch poker streaming videos is to categorize opponents’ hands as follows:

  • Category 1: Big win hands – These are made hands, possibly the nuts. Players with “big win” hands want as much money in the pot as possible.
  • Category 2: Head to head hands – these hands might be middling. Players are not trying to build the pot, and are checking and calling to get to a showdown, if possible.
  • Category 3: Drawing and bluffing hands – these hands are not in good shape. Players will check and fold with them. Indications of weakness in opponents may entice these players to bluff, however.

A few more tips:

Re-evaluate as you go on. Don’t get married to one hand range. Keep thinking and using information from each round of betting.

Don’t try to guess exactly. Hand reading is about ranges. Preflop raises are generally high pocket pairs, suited connectors, and the like. More rarely, it’s something surprising. Huge river bets out of nowhere are often bluffs.

Knowing range doesn’t mean you know what to do. Reading a hand range is something, but knowing what to do is another matter. An opponent is representing strength. Will a bluff force them out? Possibly, but it’s impossible to know for sure.

2. Poker Ranges Explained

This poker strategy video goes hand in hand with the one before it. Poker tutorials are founded on an idea of analyzing opponent information to determine what range of hands another player might have.

Opponents can have a variety of hands, but it’s not completely chaotic, unless you’re playing against a total nutter or drunk. Most of the time, people are playing within reason. People reraising you preflop out of position most of the time will show AA, KK, or perhaps AK, along with some surprising bluff hands. On the other hand, people will just call your preflop raise if they are in position with a wider variety of hands, hoping to trap you with a hand that you’re not expecting.

Team Ignition streamers who show up on the Ignition YouTube channel can all tell you that a good poker calculator is a big part of the process of learning poker ranges. You can see that not only will your preflop callers of raises have something like QQ, but also hands of a similar quality like QJs, QTs, and maybe Q9s. Keep your mind flexible and open to the possibilities of what cards your opponents will be holding.

Once you start thinking in ranges, you’ll be able to understand how your cards stack up, and how you should play various hands. If you see that most of the range is worse off than you and didn’t hit the board, you know that a big bet will probably fold your opponent, and that a small one might elicit a call from someone seeking a draw.

Knowing the range puts you in striking distance of optimal decision making and play.

3. Poker Strategy Quiz with CrazySixes and God’s Big Toe

Two seasoned online poker strategy pros with big win totals and a love of teaching take on a poker situation quiz. Team Ignition streamers CrazySixes and God’s Big Toe run through two full hands from start to finish and analyze things at every step of the way.

Hand 1: ATo (ace ten offsuit) in the big blind.

Not a bad hand, but not great either. How do you play it? Let’s walk through…

Preflop

There’s an early raiser and a late caller. What do you do? The choice really comes down to calling or squeezing (re-raising preflop). Our pros go for this play, hoping to get AJ or even AK to drop the hand right then and there. But actually, the quiz makers favor just calling on the rationale that AT simply isn’t good enough to make a big play like that when you’re going to get called a meaningful percentage of the time.

Flop (As3d8h)

The flop comes with A 3 8 rainbow. The early raiser comes out with another bet, and the late player calls it. What do you do? Is there really any chance you push people out at this point? Probably not. But can you fold, given the equity you’re getting with a reasonable bet? The optimal play is simply to call and stay in the hand. Sixes mentions that your ten could even pair up over the board’s undercards.

Turn (Kd)

The early bettor still loves the hand and comes out firing. The late player drops out. It’s not a lot for you to call, but you’re probably getting creamed by a lot of hands at this point. The quiz makers actually think a fold is the smartest here. A call that “feels bad” is what our stream team goes for.

River (6h)

The early bettor shoves. There’s way too many hands in this player’s range to call. It was smart to fold the turn and it’s even smarter to fold the river.

Like poker streaming and poker tutorials? Check out the video for more hand analysis. You’ll get to hear how poker pros thing through their hands.

There’s a ton of poker strategy, streamer tips, and lots more there. Pick up what they’re putting down, and it could save your life the next time you’re at the tables or a tourney!

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