Think ahead to win!

Learn about cause and effect in a poker hand and how planning the hand as a whole rather than move by move can lead to huge gains

A very common mistake players make is to think that each decision they make in a poker hand is a separate entity. In actual fact, every decision you make effects the entire hand, each decision has a cause and effect. It is essential to understand that what you do before and during the flop is going to effect the turn and the river and to plan ahead for different outcomes.

Here is an example of a hand played without forward planning:
It is a £1/£2 six-max game with effective stacks of £200. There is a player under the gun who raises to £6 which causes you to call on the button holding the Ten of Spades and Ten of Clubs. The rest of the table folds and you take a flop heads-up of 10 of Hearts, 4 of Spades and 3 of Hearts.
The other player bets £8 and you raise to £16. He then calls. The turn produces the 4 of Hearts, he checks and you follow suit in order to slow the play. Then the river comes and produces a 2 of Hearts. He checks again and you bet £35. He then calls and shows he has Ace of Hearts and Jack of Hearts. Your hand, a full house is better than his flush and you win the £117 pot.

However, each decision you make is not separate, they are all connected. Even though you won the pot, with forward planning you could have won considerably more money. When you flop big, your plan is to win your opponent’s whole stack, so you should plan to do that.

Now let’s examine that same hand as if you had a plan:

As before it is a £1/£2 six-max game with effective stacks of £200. The player under the gun raises to £6 and you call on the button with a Ten of Clubs and Ten of Spades.
This time on the flop, when your opponent bets £8, instead of just raising to £16 you will raise to £34. Then your opponent calls.
When the 4 of Hearts comes on the turn, your opponent checks and you bet £65. Your opponent then calls.
After the river produces a 2 of Spades your opponent checks and you bet your remaining £95. He then calls and shows his A of Hearts and Jack of Hearts.

This time, not only do you still win but you win his entire stack, a small change in strategy and a win of almost four times as much!
Whenever you play a hand you must plan ahead, each decision will affect the rest of the hand. Make a goal for each hand and plan towards it, a little more effort can result in a lot more money!