If you are interested in poker cooler, this means that you have already significantly advanced in your theoretical knowledge and practice of poker and are trying to develop your game level. We will tell you what are the features of such gaming situations, how to benefit from them, and why there is a cooler in a given hand.
What is a cooler?
In general, this term refers to a game situation in which several poker players have a very strong hand that they will not fold. Because of this, it is believed that in the cooler the losers are not those who make mistakes, but those who become victims of an unfortunate game situation and circumstances.
Let's say it can be two opponents with a pair of kings and aces, respectively, or those who have open and close cards on the flop. In this case, after simple calculations, the poker players see that they have a very strong hand at the moment, it is pointless to fold it, and you need to go the entire distance up to showdown.
Coolers often happen for beginners, in this case it is very difficult to draw a clear line of where it is just a bad game, and where is a real cooler. Fortunately, as your poker experience grows, you will experience this much less of a situation, and your win rate will increase.
What signals indicate that this is most likely a game error, and not a cooler:
- You misjudged the pot odds and said they were high enough to call. Often, beginners do not pay enough attention to poker psychology. This is an unforgivable mistake, especially when playing with regulars. Let's say you know that this or that user is playing rather passively, but tightly. And here he raises on the flop. You never noticed that he bluffs or plays aggressively. In this case, you should carefully look at your cards and board, correctly assess the outs and assume that your opponent has a stronger hand. If possible, then we advise you to go further distance with an eye to the fact that you can lose with a high probability.
- You felt that you shouldn't fold with your strong hand. This is a big mistake for overly aggressive players. Most likely, you have judged your hand based on previous hands or playing experience. The fact is that only those who have a straight flush or a royal flush can be absolutely confident in their victory with a minimum error. But if you have a set, don't forget that your opponent may have four of a kind. In this case, you should definitely take into account the game psychology, monitor the actions of your opponents, their contributions to the bank and the reaction to each card out on the board. Only then will you be able to argue that your hand is really very strong in a particular hand.
- You trusted your opponent's stats. When you blindly trust poker statistics from software, you forget that your opponent may have the same Hold'em Manager or Poker Tracker. He can also study his own game actions, analyze them and change the line of behavior according to the TRP model. Of course, you should pay attention to the stats, but making your own conclusions as you play is a prerequisite for making correct game decisions.
You can avoid the cooler by controlling the pot, check more often instead of raising, and do not forget about tactics like check-col, which can cool your opponent and help increase the pot. Don't be afraid to fold on later streets with speculative hands to avoid losing more.
The poker cooler will meet in your career, the main thing is to be able to minimize its consequences and losses.
