The squeeze play is one of the most effective moves in tournament poker. It can be an effective way to build your chip stack and see you progress to an in the money finish in poker tournaments. However because the poker squeeze play sees you attempting to win a pot whilst holding poor cards you have to know when the time is right to attempt such a move.
Essentially the squeeze play is a type of bluff. You are seeking to represent to your opponents that you have a monster hand and also trying to force them off their hand as a result after they have already committed their chips to the pot.
When seeking to steal the blind you are trying to take down the pot without a fight from your opponents. You want them to fold instantly to your bet before the flop. The best time to try this is when you have late position and are last, or one of the last, to act. If when it is your turn and there are no raisers in front of you it could be a good time to attempt a blind steal by throwing out a good sized raise.
It goes something like this. You are in late table position. A player in front of you has opened with a raise and one other player has called that raise. Now it is your turn to act but you have a poor hand. Undaunted, you go over the top with a big re-raise representing a hand with massive strength. They both folds and you pick up the pot because you have squeezed them out of it. Hence the squeeze play.
It is clearly a risky move to try and execute so it is important that you only try it with optimum conditions and when you think it will work. Because you are throwing in chips with a rag hand you do not want to get called as the odds are you will be behind in the hand. The squeeze play arguably works best in the later stages of a multi-table tournament and when used correctly can really put your opponents off their game.
So how do you pick the right time and execute your squeeze play to perfection. To begin with it is best if you have developed a tight image at the table. One who only enters a hand with great hole cards.
Don't try your squeeze play too often as your opponents may pick up on what you are doing to them. You may find it works best against intermediate players as the newbies will call with anything and the experienced players will work out your tactic quickly.
Look for opportunities when the player entering the pot with the initial raise is a fairly loose player. If it's a tight player steer clear as it's more likely the tight player will be raising with a good hand. The second player should simply smooth call the first player's raise and not re-raise. Because if he does re-raise it's likely he has the monster you want to represent. Then when you do spot your opportunity your re-raise must be large enough to push the other two off the hand.
Sometimes the squeeze play will work, sometimes it will not. Pick your spots to try it and take satisfaction when you pull off the perfect play, squeeze your opponents off their hands and take down the big pots to take you deeper in to the poker tournament and a money finish.
To help your poker game even further perhaps you would like a free poker ebook. Or if you prefer other card games perhaps you would like a free blackjack ebook
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