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How to Improve
Your Red Line
Your red line is
a variant that is shown on a poker graph which illustrates your
non-showdown winnings or losses. Many players unnecessarily obsess
over having a break even or positive red line. Whilst having a
positive red line will obviously show you are making money from
your non-showdown poker hands throughout this article we will be
looking at how you can turn a negative one into a positive one. We
will be looking at the cause of the negative red line and how to
avoid a negative red line.
Why do I have a
negative red line?
Well, put
simply, it’s because you are losing money in non-showdown pots.
This means that you are folding a lot when investing money into the
pot. It’s mainly related to your post play and generally leads to
you giving up on hands rather than looking at being the aggressor
and trying to take down the pot in situations which are
profitable.
A
negative red line is not always a terrible thing however and many
top pros will have a neutral or slightly negative non-showdown
percentage whilst still making a steady profit from the
game.
If you can
manage to get these factors to show a positive then in the long run
it will increase your overall win rate due to the fact that your
non-showdown losses will be minimised.
How to avoid a
negative red line
There can be
many factors as to why your red line is in the negative which can
vary from session to session. We will guide you through a look at
some factors that you can work on or adapt to your game, which will
improve your red line.
As with all
things in poker, each factor can vary depending on situations and
opponents, so look to implement each at targeted
players.
Continuation bet
less
A
huge leak a lot of players have is that they continuation bet far
too much and in some pretty terrible spots. Continuation betting
(or c-betting) is a concept that has been around for a few years
now and is a relatively simple theory; after you have raised pre
flop, look to bet the flop to try and take the pot away from your
opponent.
Used correctly
it can be a very profitable tool, but used incorrectly it can
become absolute spew. Players you should be targeting will be those
who you feel are weak and will be playing a very fit or fold style.
By this we mean if they have a hand they will play, but if they
don’t they will simply fold and are very unlikely to raise with
air.
Board texture is
something we need to consider as well. If the flop runs out with
running and suited cards against a player who has called your raise
pre flop in position, then a continuation bet is unlikely going to
be a profitable play (unless we have connected ourselves of
course). A dry flop such as J72 rainbow will hit a much lower range
of hands meaning they are less likely to of hit the flop and
improved their hand.
Fire the second
barrel
As a follow up
to continuation betting, firing the second barrel means that if
your c-bet is unsuccessful, we can bet again on the turn to once
again, try to get our opponents to fold. Doing so will give us a
lot more respect due to the high nature players c-bet in the modern
game.
It will also get
our opponents to fold a lot more ‘floaty’ hands that they were
maybe trying to buy the flop with in the first place with the hope
we would give up on the turn. It essentially forces them to make
another decision regarding their hand giving them more room to make
a mistake.
Fire the third
barrel
After a failed
c-bet and second barrel the situation may arise where we can fire a
third barrel. This is a concept that should be used sparingly and
only used on players of which you have built up a series of reads
against or have shown their hand to be pretty face up.
A
great way to exploit this move is to look where both the turn and
river have failed to complete any draws on the flop that you think
your opponent may have been chasing. If this scenario does arise
then betting the river could be a viable option, however if any
draws complete then your line on the river needs to be
readdressed.
Being aggressive
with your draws
If you decide
that you are going to take aggressive lines with your draws then
doing so will likely have a positive effect on your overall red
line.
By taking lines
such as the check-raise on the flop or be willing to stack off with
your draws, then the aggression you show will often get a lot of
opponents to fold their hand with you taking down the pot before
showdown.
It’s vital
that if you decide to take aggressive lines with your draws then
you do so with your made hands as well in order to balance your
range.
Position
Once again the
position word crops up and once again it remains one of the most
important factors in poker. If you are looking to improve your red
line then playing in position for the vast majority of hands will
allow you to do so with the greatest of ease.
The ability to
act last in the hand will give you an idea of how your opponent is
going to react with their hand, whilst also giving you vital
information as whether you can pick up the pot cheaply or
not.
Bluff/ Semi
bluff more
By bluffing and
semi bluffing it gives you so many more options in which to give
you a chance of taking down a hand. If you waited until you had a
legitimate hand every time then it would not only be a long drawn
out process but would also make your plays extremely exploitable to
your opponents.
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