Dara O’Kearney

In my last two pieces, I set up the following scenario: The under the gun player opens to 2.3 BBs playing 40 BBs, it’s folded to us in the big blind with the same stack or more, and we defend. This is the optimal opening range for under the gun off 40 bbs: Our defending…

In my last piece, I set up the following scenario: The under-the-gun player opens to 2.3 bbs playing 40 bbs, it’s folded to us in the big blind with the same stack or more, and we defend. This is the optimal opening range for under the gun off 40 bbs: Our defending range in big…

Apologies for my lengthy absence but I was away at the WSOP, in Cyprus and Barcelona. But now that I’m back I’m ready to start cranking out the strategy again for IPT. Having concluded my series on continuation betting, the logical progression is to look at how we should defend against continuation bets. Let’s start…

In my last strategy article, I posed the following question: You have 40 big blinds and raise under the gun to 2.3 big blinds. Only the big blind with the same stack calls. The flop comes 8h 7d 6h. The big blind checks. Which of the following hands would you bet, and would you use…

In my last article, I explained what a continuation bet is, and asked you to start thinking about when they should and shouldn’t be used in this specific example: You have 40 big blinds and raise under the gun to 2.3 big blinds. Only the big blind with the same stack calls. The flop comes…

In my previous articles, I have focused on preflop for good reason. We face at least one preflop decision every single hand we play. Most of the decisions may seem trivial, particularly since mostly the answer is “fold”, but mistakes add up and compound down the streets. Frequent small mistakes preflop can be more costly…

In my last article, I gave a theoretically correct range of hands to open in early position when you and the players behind have 100 big blinds. I also explained why the range is constructed in this way, and what problems can arise if you diverge too much from these recommendations. I also said that…