Time to Change My Style
At the end of my last post, I mentioned I was going to go into detail about how I lost my money at $2-5 NL at Bellagio to end my most recent Vegas trip and what I took from it all.
Like I said, I had been playing pretty tight. I wasn’t raising a lot, but when I did, I played my hand strong. Very tight aggressive.
The problem is, I was extremely transparent to the sophisticated players at the table. There were two players in particular that knew how and when to mix it up, and their timing was incredible. They took down big pots with timely buys, but also got paid off on their big hands. They were regulars.
There were about three other players that played very tight as well, but in retrospect, they seemed to mix it up better than I did.
Each one of the sophisticated players called my hand on separate occassions, both times AK. It was just too obvious because I wasn’t mixing up my play. But I was set on playing a certain way and didn’t adjust to the table.
However, I was still close to even at this point. I bought in for $300 and after a few hours I was sitting on $279. I look down to see pocket rockets under the gun. I raised to $25. This may seem hefty from under the gun, but it was pretty standard at the table, and I like to raise a little more than the average amount to limit my opponents, regardless of my hand.
The player directly to my left, my main target at the table, called the bet. I liked that because he pushed hands too far, especially draws, and I was confident I could make him pay a steep price if he had a draw.
But both sophisticated players called (one in middle-late position, the other on the button). Then the blinds, both tight players, called with exceptional pot odds. Unfortunately, we see a flop six-handed.
The flop comes 7-9-10, rainbow. A pretty connected flop, but unless somebody limped with 9-10 or a medium pocket, I’m ahead. Still, there are 6 players on the flop.
It gets checked to me, and I bet $50 into the $150 pot. I figured it was enough to gage where I was at and possibly take it down if everyone missed, but not so much that I couldn’t get away from it.
My target on the left then bumps it up to $100, pushing everyone else out. At this point I didn’t know what to think. I know I only have an overpair, but this was a guy I had seen go all-in with a flush draw on the flop. Against anyone else, I fold. Against him, I decided to push for my last $154. He called and turned over pocket 8s.
Turn was a blank. River was the dreaded 6, and my trip was over. I went in with the best hand, but he had plenty of outs, 10 on the turn and river. However, like I said in the last post, I was destined to lose all of my money.
I raised it 5 times the big blind under the gun. I am a tight aggressive player that hasn’t been mixing up my game. At that point, I can really only be holding four hands: Probably aces or kings, possibly queens or AK. Jacks or AQ are very suspect to my image under the gun, and especially for that big of a bet.
So even though there was a very good chance I was holding rockets, five players decided to go along for the ride. Why? Because if the flop comes something like 7-9-10 I would still put in my money.
After discussing the hand with my brother I realized something. By becoming so transparent, the sophisticated players were likely HOPING I had aces in that situation. If they played a suited connector and flopped two pair, they were getting all of my money. If they played a weak pocket pair and flopped a set, they were getting all of my money. Because they knew what I had – and how far I would likely take the hand - it was a smart play to enter the pot, especially after other callers developed and pot odds were great.
Suddenly I realized why I or anyone else that plays like me was -EV in that game. While I was waiting for that one big hand to get my money in, so were the sophisticated players. The difference was, they were capable of doing it with a hand like 87s. I wasn’t. I was waiting for a hand like aces, which is cracked fairly easily by the types of hands they were likely playing.
Basically, I was waiting to get cracked, and they knew it. That’s what made them good, winning players.
Which got me thinking: How do I become that sophisticated player raking in big pots in tough, tight games?
Here is what I’ve come up with:
1. Pick the right game: I’m not even talking about the players here. I’m talking about the stakes and buy-ins. I’m looking to play looser, so I need to buy in for the maximum and be prepared to reload if need be. This means no playing $2-5 unless I’m prepared to drop $1,000 (which I’m not). I should also look for games with high minimum buy-ins, because I’m looking to win entire stacks. Mirage is a perfect example. They have a $1-2 NL game with a $100-200 buy-in, so no one can come in with a true short stack.
2. Improve my table image: In order to get paid off on big hands, I need to change my table image. I want the image of a loose player, and most impressions are made right off the bat. If I’m caught chasing a gutshot draw or calling with middle pair early on, it might cost me a little bit of money at first, but it could make me a lot of money in the long run. Then try to maintain this image to an extent, without getting too wild.
3. Actually loosen up: Especially with position, I need to be raising with average hands. If three players limp and I’m on the button with 98s, this is a perfect time to bump it up to four times the blinds. You know most of those players will go along for the ride, and I’ve got a hand that plays great multiway. What happens when the flop comes A-9-8?? I make a lot of money off AQ and people see I’m capable of raising with anything.
4. Target those tight players: With hands that can improve drastically, such as suited connectors and pocket pairs, I’m hoping to play tight players when they have monster preflop hands. Because they’ve waited an hour to play a hand, they’ll be more likely to put all their money in with a high pocket pair. I’m looking to take the entire stacks of these players.
It should be noted that this is my new strategy when at a tight, tough table. When the table is still an action game where it’s easy to get paid off, I’m sticking with my tight strategy, waiting for that big hand.
As they say, play the opposite of the table. I’ve always played tight in loose games. Now I’m prepared to play loose in tight games. I’ll let you know how it works.
Related posts:
- Three Trouble Hands in Texas Hold em
- I’m a great player (at the bar)
- My Aces Cracked
- My SNG Play
- Sit n Go Madness
Categories: Poker Strategy
