POKER TRASH OR TREASURE

Trash or Treasure:

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” or in poker terms “one player’s 86 suited is another player’s pocket aces.” As poker players we learn how to put our opponents on a range of hands based off of position, bet size, previous history and a host of many other variables. As hands play out, we try to adjust and/or narrow our range as we gather more and more information. The more hands, the more information we can hopefully gather to form a strategy of how to play against the players at our table. Understanding “what” people like to play and “how” they like to play it is imperative in becoming a good poker player. Obviously, the tighter players are easier to put on a range in general because they play fewer hands. That’s just simple math. If you are an overall tight player and you are playing against familiar competent competition on a regular basis, you definitely want to mix in some odd hands once in awhile to help throw them off the scent. Trust me; a good player will remember seeing you show up at showdown with a crappy starting hand long after it has happened. I am not saying to completely open up your starting range. I am just saying that you have to keep the good players guessing. Now if you feel that the fellow players at your table don’t pay attention at all then that’s a different story. By the way, if that is the case, please invite me to your next game. Trying to put looser players on a range is obviously a little bit tougher task. Some players do have common themes that they follow. Some loose players will play anything that is suited whether it is Q2 or 83. Others like connecting cards like 54 and 87 and of course having them suited is just a bonus to them. Others may have a favorite hand that they always play because they won a big pot with it many years ago or it has some kind of sentimental meaning to them. These are the same players that after they fold usually like watching how the board runs out to see if they would have won the hand. See if you can gain any knowledge about their starting hands by watching their reaction to a played out hand after one of their rare folds. Another thing to do is to try to figure out how they play draws. Some players bet basically 100% of their draws. Sometimes they do this even if they are first to act and there are several players in the hand. Many times they will bet small to try to “set the price” low for them to potentially complete their draw. There are some players that are super aggressive when they have the button. There seems to be a decent amount of players out there that play relatively tight in just about every position then totally open up from the button. The key to “ranging” your opponents is to take notice of things. Figure out what they are doing and then figure out a way to exploit that. On the defensive side, how do you stop other competent players that you frequently play with from getting a good read on your game plan? I think the key to doing that is to not always play things the same way. Mix it up. I already suggested occasionally throwing in some odd hands into your game. Additionally, here are some other ideas. Sometimes bet your draws. Sometimes check them. Sometimes fast play your big hands. Sometimes slow play them. You want to USUALLY do what you think is the best play but don’t ALWAYS do it. I am not suggesting playing sub optimally, but I am saying that playing optimally against good competition involves varying your play to some degree. ---Frank L. DiRe Nerdthusiast Content Writer inthemoneypoker@yahoo.com Follow me on Twitter @FLD15