Daniel Negreanu\'s poker philosophy
Daniel Negreanu betting philosophy per several of his newspaper columns:
tourneys - you need to play a lot of hands in order to accumulate chips.
starting hands:
AA- if you have the discipline to not get married to the hand, limp and RR PF if raised, otherwise trap. it will let you get away with the smaller pair and suited connector limps you want to make should you end up showing it down; and it gets you a better return than just stealing the blinds/antes (but at the same time don't be married to the aces). they're harder to play than 22 b/c it's more difficult to release them if you miss the board.
small pairs (22-66) - avoid in EP
AK - it's a drawing hand. if you don't hit on the flop, fold.
AQ - don't call with EP raises; if you make TPTK, lead out and get raised, give serious consideration to folding b/c you're behind to a lot of hands. if in late position and it's checked to you, check and lead turn.
hands worth considering adding to your repertoire: AXo, (but then he says to avoid, especially in tournaments) KXs & QXs; small pairs if you can see a cheap flop; suited connectors 34+
trash- good hands for AI over the top-re-raises if a loose player raises and you have a Tight image.
top ten trouble hands (from least troublesome to most troublesome): AT; J8; KQ; AXs; KT; AJ; Q9; KJ; JJ; AQ (he's not saying don't play these, he's saying be cautious).
suited connectors can be profitable - stay only if you hit a flush, straight, or at least draws. if you just have a draw, check. be wary of having TP-Weak-Kicker if you stay with 78 and the flop is 8 high. if you miss but the board is a little scary, bet.
small blind - avoid calling with early position raises; with blind v. blind, call with marginal to good hands and fold garbage; raise premiums.
the most mis-played hand by non-pros is KQ b/c they can't recognize when they've missed and b/c other hands that folks are likely to stay on often will beat it (eg AQ AK). also, KQ unimproved rarely wins at river. it's OK to play in MP or LP;
other hands to watch out for Q9 & J8 b/c they'll lose to a higher str8 too often. the risk is not present with 63. he recommends folding KQ Q9 and J8 to a raise.
other pre-flop considerations: prefers smaller PF raises but against tougher players than you, make larger PF raises, especially if the tough player is in the blinds; beginners - raise 5x BB. others 2.5-3x.
post-flop:
continuation bets: be more cautious about making c bets in no limit than in limit.. eg - you raise PF with a big ace; get one caller; you hit your non-ace card for TPTK; you c bet and he calls. turn comes X and now he leads. this means: 1) he was slow playing on the flop 2) he just made a set or two pair or a draw on the turn 3) he has a pair under the top pair and is just raising for info. 4) he's bluffing. Therefore, you should try to get to the river cheaply.
calling - he advocates calling a lot more often than books or commentators say. Eg, under pair to the top card on the board, you have position, it's bet in front of you. call is best option.
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