Gimme Chips for Christmas!

All I want for Christmas is some poker chips. Unfortunately, nobody likes me enough to just give them to me. So, I guess I am going to have to get them all by myself. Now, I just need to figure out how I am going to do this. The people who have poker chips are not out to give any of them up. They are possessive and self-serving, and think the chips are theirs. I'm going to have to come up with a grand strategy to get those chips away from them, and get them to their rightful owner – me!

When I approach a game, I design a master plan of which style and plays I am going to use to get the chips. Each game is unique as to the requirements necessary to give yourself the best shot of taking down those chips. The style and strategies you utilize in a game have varying degrees of value based on the playing styles of those in the game. As a player, you need to develop many different styles of play in order to be able to effectively adapt to the differing conditions of individual poker games.

When I first sit down at a table, I design a master plan. How am I going to get the best of this group? What strategy is the best strategy for this game? First, I make a visual sweep around the table and make mental notes of any opponents' characteristics that I deem important. How do they look? Are they dead tired from sitting there all night? Are they stuck and steaming, or are they winning? What mood are they in? Do they seem happy or depressed? Are they aggressive or timid? I factor the emotional composition of the table and the styles of play of my opponents into making a decision on what type of image I wish to possess at the table and what style of play I am going to utilize.

As a general rule, I like to play tighter than my norm when I first sit down at a table. I do not like to get myself significantly involved in hands until my feel for the game has developed. The lack of feel that is inherent in not yet knowing the players at the table can cause me to make errors that I would not make given more information from observation. I do, however, often depart from this tendency when I am starting a new game. Most players are trying to play their best when starting a new game, and are trying to get off to a good start, so they are more susceptible to bluffs and aggressive play.

I sometimes let my early card holdings dictate my table image. By that I mean, if I pick up a hand early in my play that has a lot of aggressiveness value at that time, such as 10-9 suited, I will make a play with the hand and create an aggressive image even if it may not be the premium image I wish my opponents to hold. I can always change my image and gears later in the session, as I generally am wont to do once my opponents have picked up a pattern to my play.

That said, when first analyzing a game I am about to play, I make a determination of what errors my opponents are likely to make and try to create an image that best takes advantage of those errors and causes them to make even more of them. If my opponents play too aggressively and wild, I want to make them think I am not very sophisticated (unfortunately, this is not hard) and am easy to intimidate and run over. I'll make more trap plays, check-call opponents down for value much more, and appear unimaginative, thereby setting up bluffing plays when my opponents think I am incapable of them. If my opponents are likely to make too many folds in situations in which they should call, I want them to fold even more often. And to accomplish this, I'll try to put forth an intimidating image in order to manipulate them into doing so. I'll play more aggressively with my marginal hands and will bluff more. I'll show down my good hands and make statements that I held big hands, when in fact I was bluffing, so as not to wise up my opponents.

I often see players maintain a crazy image in an effort to confuse and create a suspicious mindset amongst their opponents. I do think that this tends to generate action, but you'd best master a style of play that is tailored to action games. I think many players overdo this concept, and, frankly, do not play the situation as well as they think they do. Rather, they are succumbing to the gamble within themselves, and are justifying it with a poker rationale that is correct just often enough to allow them to live the lie. Against very aware opponents, this style can often be self-defeating. Your opponents see right through it, and the energy expended and chips risked can be put to better use in other areas of your poker game. I also think the same thing can be accomplished to a slightly lesser degree by being deceptive and tricky without your cardroom pals wanting to put you in the nearest insane asylum.

Many players, such as my friend Florida John, open up firing in an effort to get action for themselves. Like many players, John's problem is that he stays in that gear. His opponents are fully aware of this (you would have to be brain-dead not to notice), and he just keeps giving action until he runs out of chips. He never adjusts his playing style based on the image his opponents have of him, and it costs him dearly. Often after firing away all night in order to get action on his big hands, he will make a big hand and then slow-play it to death, losing much of the value of the hand, despite the fact that his image is very loose. He gives up value in order to get value, and then surrenders the value – not exactly a winning combination.

You get the chips in poker by playing better than your opponents. Part of the spread of that equation is how badly your opponents play when you are in the pot. Creating an image to best take advantage of your opponents' weaknesses has a great deal of value in poker, yet it is often overlooked by even very knowledgeable players. I think it is always more effective to lead people in the direction they are already heading than to try to create a whole new mindset for them.

Effectively manipulate what your opponents think of you, and utilize it in your poker game. I'm sure it will make for a very merry Christmas for you. Oh, and do me a favor. Send me those chips!

Editor's note: Roy Cooke has played winning professional poker for 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas – please see his ad below.