One of the most effective way to gain control in a multi-table tournament is to shove your opponents around. In cash games, the ability to manipulate someone is usually quite limited. This is why most cash games have a maximum buy in. If players could buy in for $200,000 at a 5/10 game, they could play wild and reckless and still bust a lot of the players who are working with $1,000 stacks.
Tournaments are completely different in this aspect, because even though everyone starts with the same amount of chips, there are typically great disparities in chip counts as the event progresses. If you can get some early double ups, or even steadily build your stack, you are going to have a lot more chips than the majority of your opponents. These chips can then be used as a weapon. If players are raising a lot, make some looser calls, or looser re-raises, and try to take down pots with pure force. Now, there is a thin line between reckless and aggressive, so never play wildly if it is unlikely to be profitable. This is the biggest problem for most deepstacked tournament players, knowing how to properly use a big stack to their advantage.
In the landscape of modern poker games, players have learned to adapt to much more aggressive playing styles. Some poker players naturally understand when and how to properly apply pressure to their opponents. Other players try to practice what they’ve been taught but end up failing miserably. One of the most common misapplied strategies is the light re-raises. Most of the time, a light re-raise is found in a cash game setting, but not always. There are definitely some players who are capable of executing light re-raises in tournaments. The premise and basic approach to light re-raising is almost the same in both environments.
“Light”
The keyword in light re-raising is of course, light. If you are 3 betting or 4 betting with a good hand, it is for value, and the aim is entirely different than that of a weak hand. Beyond this, some weaker hands are much more ideal for light re-raises than others. A hand like 8 9 suited might seem like it would be good for a light re-raise, but it really isn’t. If you take 8 9 at face value, you are going to find that it has little intrinsic value. When played in position against a raise, however, 8 9’s value begins to skyrocket. If a player opens and you call with 8 9, there is a good chance for a big pot to develop and for 8 9 to be on the winning end. This is why calling a raise with 8 9 is usually better than re raising.
Set mining is one of the easiest ways to stack your opponents in a NLHE cash game. There are good times and ways to set mine, but there are also some terrible ways to set mine. For example, set mining with awful implied odds is a recipe for disaster. In fact, implied odds are at the core of most set mining expeditions. With that said, there are also many situations where set mining is quite cheap.
When you miss a set in a small pot, it usually means that you saved money, but it also means that you weren’t likely to make much money. This is the problem with set mining in small pots. If you happen to connect with the board, the only way you are going to get paid off is if your opponent also happens to have a huge hand. There are few spots where a set is going to stack an over pair in a limped or single raised pot. Re raised pre flop would indicate larger hands, but they also make it that much more expensive to set mine. Always balance the pros and cons of set mining in any given hand.
In poker, many players like to point to a skill set as the reason why someone wins or loses. In reality, however, actual poker skills can play a small role in a player’s success. One of, if not the, biggest variables in poker is the ability to remain emotionally stable. Even if you play perfect poker, you are going to lose if you can’t handle the inevitable losses. Absolutely no true poker player wins every single day. Actually, even the best players in the world go through sustained losses from time to time.
A great poker player is able to weather the storm. This might be accomplished through a temporary break, or playing even when things aren’t going well. While it makes no sense to play poker when you are not feeling comfortable or mentally into it, there are times where it is OK to play even when you are losing. Some players are able to play through the good and the bad with emotional indifference, but those players are a rare breed. Even players like Phil Ivey admit to getting burnt out from time to time. Poker is no different than most anything else in the world. Some days you are going to lose no matter what you do, and the game can become incredibly frustrating.
Sometimes you are going to be in a hand where you are completely lost. Your opponent might have just pulled some type of move that makes no sense, at the surface anyway. In reality, however, a nonsensical move might make a lot of sense. The fact of the matter is that the most likely hand is most often the actual hand.The problem with this being that the most likely hand itself is often difficult to decipher.
Pre flop play sets the foundation for any hand of poker. If you don’t pay close attention to the pre flop action in any given hand, it is going to be a challenge to make the proper post flop decisions. For example, if you were on the flop in a $50 pot at 100NL with two other players, what does this mean? Well, it could mean that you raised, got re raised, and one other player called. Or, maybe it means that you 3 bet another player and got two calls. All of these scenarios are possible, and the actual scenario gives you deeper insight into any player’s cards. Information is incredibly valuable in poker, but it is even more important that you use the information properly. After all, what good is a text book if you don’t know how to read?
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