Poker Pub Poker Blog: no limit strategy

2007/06/30

Mistake in a big pot

2006/11/26

My Way of Selecting a Poker Table...

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Table selection is an important aspect of one's poker game. I'd give you a magic number I look for when selecting an online table on which to play, but I strongly suspect the majority of my readers do not have Pokertracker - free to try, by the way... So, instead of spitting and spraying numbers, I'll talk in plain English.

There are very specific things I look for when selecting a NL Hold'em table to sit down and make money from. The texture of the table, my seat relative to my "targets" all depend on how I will play once I sit down. Today, I plan to fill you in on the thought process that works for me. Perhaps it may help you as well.

For starters, let's pretend that we know we want to play a NL Texas Hold'em cash game at a given poker site. Additionally, let's assume we are adequately bankrolled to play at said level. Furthermore, we're assuming that we can look at X number of tables ourselves, without pokertracker numbers guiding us, and that the players during this observation period will not get up, switch tables or sign off. Finally, you are actively using a labeling system within the poker software to tag and label players accordingly. My system has a few labels, to keep it simple... we may get into that later.

I know this is not reflecting reality, so to speak, but again, this is meant merely to give you a view on the concepts I use to find my table.

The first thing I do is go down my list to find anyone who I have labeled "that guy." To me, "that guy" is one of those players who are all but begging to give me their money. They're the people who can somehow manage to play AA, KK, AK to negative numbers and don't know why. Their game is extremely transparant. They bluff far too often in the wrong situations. Said another way, these are the extreme donkeys. If I see them logged on and at a table, if I can get a seat with this player, I do so. Thus, my system is thrown out the door.

When I am at the table with "that guy," I try to often isolate this player either preflop or post flop. This indicates I'm pretty much playing against this player and this player alone. Initially, this may prove effective and other players will get out of your way... Until they figure out what you're doing. Most likely by then, "that guy" has handed you most of his money and has run scared.

Anyway, back on track...

I have X number of poker tables open for observation. I am first looking for the absolute softest tables preflop possible. In fact, if no one ever raised, that's the ideal situation for me. I like limpers, and lots of them. This table would be my first choice. Ideally, I also like these tables to not have a high showdown rate - meaning, I prefer that most hands terminate via fold to bets prior to the river.

At this preferred type of table, I am inclined to limp out of position with hands I'd normally play only on the button IF I believe I can both see a cheap flop and outplay post flop. From position, I'm inclined to raise with hands like J-9 suited, or 10-7 not suited, maybe even 5-4 suited, with the intention of stealing, isolating, and/or outplaying post flop. I'm being mindful here of my table image though when I do stuff of this nature and also looking for "where" the call is coming from.

My main goal is to outplay and manipulate pot size here. Big pot, big hand and in position. Small pot, oop, decent hand... I'm playing the mistakes game. I'm willing to make a small mistake in a small pot in order to create and exploit big mistakes in bigger pots. These tables typically feature players who see too many flops. They also tend to go to far with their hands. The best way to exploit is to also see many flops and "allow" them to feel safe in going to far.

The above is the ideal table. Often we do not get our ideal situation. Sure, it would be great for me to get a table of soft players with "that guy" sitting to my immediate right just dying to get on the Christmas Card Mailing List as my single largest donor (money flows from the right to the left, typically), but that's not always going to happen...

What is going to happen though is that you're going to sometimes get one of the "tough guys" who typically multi-table and are not the least bit imaginative, sometimes not because they don't have the mind, but instead because they waste resources concentrating on several tables instead of focusing on one. It should be noted, I'm not knocking multi-tablin... I am suggesting though that many players do it and they have no business even playing on one table, truth be told. They lack understanding of the concept and theories of NL Hold'em, and over time, it shows.

The "tough guy" is going to maintain his 26% preflop raise because he read somewhere he should do that (and thinks this means all the time in all conditions). He will almost religiously make a pot size continuation bet on the flop no matter the cards. When encountering a player of this nature on an ideal poker table (see above), I tend to adjust my buy-in upward. Usually, I start off with about 1/2 the max allowed (NL $100, $50 is normally sufficient for me). I will buy in for the max when the "tough guy" is present.

Here, when he has entered the pot AND I have position on him, I will tend to mix it up, sometimes calling cleanly, intending to raise the flop bet, other times re-raising preflop and either checking or betting the flop... depending. When out of position, I will tend to go into re-raise or fold mode. If I am going to play a bigger pot against this "tough guy," I'm needing to take control of the hand. This requires me to show strength by reraising. He has a wide hand range he'd likely be raising with... remember, he believes it's correct to raise 25% of the time. On a table of this nature, when he's called, he's often an underdog AND KNOWS IT. So, if he knows this, my mere calling has somewhat tipped my hand. Why not make him pay for that knowledge? Reraise it, my friends... take charge. Be sure to make his decision difficult, while keeping your options open (i.e. - do not re-raise for half your stack, which makes folding to a re-reraise impossible... if you go that far, why not push it all-in preflop and eliminate position, simplifying your decision)?

Against the "tough guy" my goal is to isolate and control. Re-raise, position, and simplification of decisions for myself are my primary goals. Against this guy, I'm either going to educate him or he's going to run away to another table, because some idiot (me) re-raised him with AQs when he had 44 and position. He's not going to understand how I could play against him out of position, because he's seen me show down hands such as jack ten under the gun as a winner, so he just "knows" I have no starting hand selection and no concept of position... I must have got lucky. I had to have "known" that he either had a pocket pair or AKs, and either way I was "dominated" but yet I played back at him anyway... (someone get the cat litter out, as he's spit all over the felt and it's soaked).

I avoid completely the players I label as "tricky." This is not a large percentage of the players. These are the players who are really able to mix it up. They always keep you guessing and shift gears based on table conditions, opposition, and texture of the board. These players are surely the top players in the given limit, and while I want to get better and play against good players, I don't wish to do it on the nine-to-five. Save that for the CheckRayz tourneys... When I am trying to grow the bankroll, I don't need "good play" I need donkeys. These tricky players are rarely going to give it up. They understand pot size manipulation and often come out on the winning end with the big pots.

As for the "call stations," I make sure I note their bet button is broke. I tend to do a lot of checking against these guys with medium strength hands, post flop. I tend to value bet more, and I rarely, if ever bluff (don't bluff if you believe it will most often be called).

I am sure I lost track of where I am. Ah yes, my point is/was... have some sort of method of table selection that works for you. Borrow mine in whole, tweak it slightly... do whatever. But, if you're serious about your game, you won't just simply accept a seat at a table just because it's there. Do your homework, know "who" is at the table, know "where" your money is coming from, and "how" you're going to get it. Exchange small mistakes for big mistakes, exploit your oppositions weaknesses to maximize your return.

Mike

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2006/11/22

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"but i was 75% preflop, how could you call?"

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As poker players, we hear that a lot, don't we? Especially online, where we have plenty of time and resources to crunch the numbers.

Usually these words are uttered in the context of complaining and whining. I am here to tell you... and the whiners, what you already really know... deep down. Just like having a static, one style approach to poker, this line of thinking is flawed.

My buddy Gerg (Greg backwards, pronounced as it sits) and I were talking poker last night. Of which, the whining part came up. It occured to me that I hear entirely too much "didn't he know that I had (insert hand such as pocket 4's, 7s, Kings, AKs here)? And then they follow up with "how could he call, I was 70%?"

For starters, maybe the "caller" thinks you're a donkey... and hopefully if he thinks that, it's wrongfully so. But maybe, just maybe he thinks you have a weak hand or are bluffing. As poker players, we do sometimes like people to think we're bluffing when we are not, right? Don't we also sometimes want players to call with weak hands - or at least hands weaker than ours?

Also, what's this 70% stuff you're talking about preflop? If you're playing against a good player, he's probably got you on a hand range preflop... If you're not playing against a good player, he has no clue you even have a hand. He's not thinking past his own foxhole.

Additionally, pondering how they could have called THERE is flawed. Put yourself in their head. Understanding who they are and what motivates them will help you to better understand how to defeat them. You can't think that you'd never call there with ace king, because to them, Ace king is a made hand! Know this, understand this, embrace and accept this, because it is EXACTLY how it is... People play their style, not yours. Be flexable, think like they do... figure out what mistakes they make, and why they make them. Commit to making adjustments to your game to best exploit their errors, which can also include PURPOSELY MAKING MISTAKES TO GET THEM TO SCREW UP.

The point is... and I know I've made this same point before... First off, know how other players view you RIGHT NOW. Second, have an idea what level thinker you're up against. Do they even know you have a hand or do they think you think that they think they have exactly AK?

Third, don't fall into the "but i was 70% preflop" trap. If it's me, I'm AT LEAST a cointoss on your range, and probably a favorite. If it's a bad player, they don't even know what you mean by incorrectly stating you're 70%.

And finally, don't assume that your opposition thinks just like you... Get into their heads, don't place your head into their situation. Exploit their mistakes...

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2006/11/16

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In my "previous life" I used to laugh at many of my peers. Generally speaking, they believed that "buy and hold" was an actual investment strategy. Worse yet, they believed "buy and hold" was the correct all around investment strategy. They'd say stuff such as "well, over time, markets ALWAYS go up..." And throw other things in there starting with "we all know that..." and using supporting charts that start off in the middle of a year, but imply that it's a year over year chart. And these brokers tell their customers to pay attention not to the market today, but instead to where it will be 20 years from now. Or, "Joe, what do you mean you want to sell, I thought you were in this for the long haul... WE need to hang in there... Buy and hold, remember?"

To blindly invest and believe, in my opinion, is a mistake. Buy and hold was a great posture to have when the market itself was in a tremendous upswing, as it was in the majority of the 90's. In the 90's buy and hold was the correct POSTURE, because most all was going up. It was however never a philosophy, just a posture.

In a structurally fair market, buy and hold investers will tend to get crushed. Structurally fair markets tend to feature stocks going up and down equally, both in magnitude and quantity. The correct posture, generally speaking, during these fair markets are properly timing the market. Picking your spot, moving in when the time's right and leaving the party on a high note, before it dies down.

I believe playing hold'em, the same is to be said. I believe that there's a time to play tight, aggressive poker. I believe there's a time to play a more passive, deceptive game. I do not believe that I am a tight aggressive player. I don't believe I am a weak-tighter, nor a loose-passive player for that matter. If I were to put myself into a catigory of what kind of ring game hold'em player I am, I'd say I was an observant, thinking poker player.

I'd say I can and do adjust my game to table conditions. Generally speaking, I know when I can limp with shit OOP and not have my ass handed to me. I try to know when top pair is good, and when yours is not. I can play hard, I can play soft... I can be aggressive and effective, I can be passive and cause you to fail. The point is, I am a thinking player. A cereberal assassin on the tables, if you will. And sure, I may sound full of myself by saying that... My point is, I strive to understand the game of hold'em. I've come to understand it in such a way to know that it's illogical to think that playing "a certain style" is also a correct overall philosophy. I believe that effective playing styles vary by opponent, by hand, and by table conditions. I believe I am wise enough to recognize that and to adjust my play.

I also believe that my few readers are insightful enough to understand and embrace the same.

Mike

2006/11/15

[+/-]

Micro Limit Preflop Strategy

Recently there's been discussion about effectively playing the NL$100 game. Anyone who remotely comes close to understanding Hold'em knows full well that there's no one cookie cutter strategy to playing hold'em. In fact, there's not any one "correct" method to play or playing style that applies "all of the time." Hold'em is situational. To approach hands or games with a mindset of "I'm a tight aggressive player and I'm going to run over this table no matter what" will get you stacked by someone who understands the game.

Poker is a game of mistakes. Whoever wins this battle of mistakes wins the game. I do not mean this in the sense that if you make ten mistakes in a session and I make five, I win, because that may not be the case. In order for me to win, I have to be willing to make mistakes while the pots are small, and cause you to make mistakes when the pot is big. I do this, I win...

When selecting a table, at the micro limits, I try to find the softest table possible. What I mean by softest is that I am wanting to find a table that doesn't raise preflop too often, but has a lot of players entering the pot voluntarily. Why do I want this? For starters, I want to be the strongest person at the table, but I do not wish for them to know that. Additionally, I enjoy exploiting the "mistake" of players calling or limping too often.

Now, I could theoretically put in a steal raise when there's too many limpers, and from time to time I do... But typically, I like to also limp, when the pot is small. So, quite often, I go into a hand wrong preflop... Remember, the name of the game is make mistakes in small pots, exploit other's mistakes in big pots. Players who tend to limp often at this level tend to play poorly after the flop.

Once the flop occurs, I decide if I wish to play for a small pot or build it into a large pot. I make this decision based on what I have, and what I have my opposition on, relative to the board.

For the reasons stated above, I am wanting to see a lot of flops cheaply. I'm equally likely to be limping with 7-6 suited as I am 10-10 under the gun. But, only at soft tables as described above. I understand that my money comes from exploiting mistakes post-flop, and that's typically what I plan to do.I've done quite well at it, for that matter.

Unfortunately, I'm not always able to find that table that is soft from top to bottom. There's always going to be someone coming in there who thinks they're a pro raising away... raise raise raise raise raise... Because they believe that to not raise is not manly. When these players get on the table, I tend to adjust to them, because after all, I adapt to my opposition, choosing the correct tools to get the job done. I don't play 7-6s utg because that hand doesn't like the preflop raise.

I do, however, weakly slip into the pot with monsters or monster busters when this aggressive player is still left to act and raise behind me. When he does raise in behind me, my decision is to either reraise and take position away, or to fold... It should be noted, I usually either mow these players down or they get all flustered saying crazy stuff like "hmmm, 9-9 right? I guess my eights are no good here." This is nothing more than the overly aggressive player trying to save face. His ego gets insulted when he's challenged from a substantial over the top raise. He knows that usually when he calls, he's behind. He in turn becomes the weak player, generally speaking.

Now keep in mind here, I play against overly aggressive players one way, and passive players another way... How do you catigorize me? That is the question, now isn't it...?

More on this later, as this is a topic that I'm surely not done with.

Mike

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2007/06/30

Mistake in a big pot

2006/11/26

My Way of Selecting a Poker Table...

2006/11/22

"but i was 75% preflop, how could you call?"

2006/11/16

Poker Playing Style and Investment Strategy

2006/11/15

Micro Limit Preflop Strategy

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