Creating a Greater Edge

Many, if not most, middle-limit hold'em games (both live-action and Internet) are characterized by a field of players who play a weak-tight ABC game. By ABC, I mean they play their hands in a conventional manner without mixing it up too much. It is rare, however, to find a game in which all of your opponents have the same style of play, and while the texture of a game may lean in one direction or another, as an astute player, it's your job to notice the exceptions and adjust your play accordingly. You can use the predictability of your opponents' play to create positive-edge situations.

And so it was in a recent Internet $30-$60 limit hold'em game (not on Planet Poker; I don't play on that site, because of my involvement there). I held A-10 offsuit in middle position. The game was fairly weak-tight, with most of the players playing pretty much an ABC game, except one weak-loose player who, while also playing straightforwardly, played too many hands. He loved seeing flops with suited hands, and if he held any ace, he was coming.

Mr. Loose Limper opened from the second hole, and the field folded to me, three off the button. Oftentimes, with a holding such as A-10, I fold the hand to a tight upfront caller who has good game knowledge. I'm looking at a hand that has me in trouble far too often to make it worth a play. I want to avoid putting myself in a situation in which my hand shares a ranked card with an opponent holding a higher kicker, crippling my hand. As a general rule, A-10 in middle position is a marginal hand, and not one with which to call a raise. It is, however, very, very situation-dependent, and most players tend to call with it too often. It is one of those muck it-call it-raise it hands. If I am first in, raising becomes the strongest play (although not always the correct one), as there is the possibility of winning the blinds without a call. The greater the possibility that the blinds will fold, the stronger the raise play becomes.

In this situation, folding the blinds with a raise might work, but Mr. Loose Limper would see a flop regardless, so I couldn't win the pot right there with aggressiveness. However, since Mr. Loose played any ace, the possibility that he held an ace with a weaker kicker than mine was great. I thought he'd have raised with any ace-paint or any pair, tens or better. If you can get a pot heads up against an opponent with a weaker ace, you are getting great value on your dough, due to the fact that you have his hand crippled.

Several other positive raising factors were present. I hadn't picked up much in the way of starting hands in a while, giving me a tight image. Also, the blinds were weak-tight players who were likely to fold or play their hands in a predictable manner. I raised, looking to isolate the weak limper and get the pot heads up while having the advantages of position, dead blind money, an opponent who was easy to read, holding the best hand, and my opponent's hand likely being dominated.

The raise worked just like it was supposed to. The entire field folded back to the limper, who called my raise. Oftentimes, your opponents are uncooperative (the nerve of them) and do not react as you would like them to. The possibility of unfavorable scenarios presenting themselves must be included in the equation for determining the value of a play of this type.

The flop came down Q-J-5 rainbow, giving me an overcard and a gutshot-straight draw. There was also a pretty good chance that I held the best hand. My opponent checked to me, and I bet. He called. The turn was the 6, putting a two-flush on the board. Once again, my opponent checked.

I was faced with a check or bet decision. In such situations, I analyze the likelihood of my opponent check-raising as either a value bet or a bluff, the likelihood of my hand being good (whether or not called), and the potential of him betting as a bluff on the river. If an opponent will bluff on the river in those situations, I am better off betting as long as I have little fear of a raise. That is because he may fold a hand on the turn that will win either by being the best hand now or by becoming the best hand on the river. It also tends to prevent a bluff on the river.

Mr. Loose tended to play timidly, and he check-called a lot when raised. He was also the type who peeled one off with any drawing hand, and even with a draw to a pair. He wouldn't fold a hand better than mine, but I did think there was some chance for my hand to be good, and even if it wasn't, I had little fear of a raise. Plus, I could hit cards to win. I also thought he was capable of bluffing on the river. I fired $60 forward, rooting for Mr. Loose to fold. He called.

The river brought another 6; a running pair had hit the board. He checked again. He was not the type to lay down any pair on the end, so if I bet and got called, I would be beat. Also, he would not call with any hand worse than mine. Betting had no value, except for the tiny chance that he might lay down an ace high that would split the pot. I knuckled the table. Mr. Loose turned over A-5 offsuit, having flopped bottom pair and taken it to the river.

Yeah, I lost the hand. But, I created a strong positive-edge situation preflop, in which I had an opponent trapped in a bad spot. Had I flat-called his preflop limp, players might have come in behind me, reducing the edge I held over the up-front limper. By limping in behind him, I also would have given the blinds a cheap/free shot to make a hand. Of course, my play had risks; for example, the possibility of a call behind me by a hand that had my holding in trouble, or for that matter, a reraise. But the risk was worth taking if it increased my edge in enough of the plausible scenarios available to offset the negative edge when I put in extra money when taking the worst of it. In such a situation, it is important to remember that if calling preflop anyway, the extra negative-edge loss is increased only by the amount of the negative expectation of the raise.

Conceptually, making plays that increase your edge by manipulating the number of opponents and incorporating the texture of your opponent's hand into the equation can create positive expectation in unconventional standard situations. It can also create larger edges over "standard" play. Those small extra edges add up to a considerable amount over the course of time, and are often the only difference between good and great players. The ability to be able to actualize that concept effectively requires you to be able to predict with a reasonable degree of accuracy the range of hands your opponent(s) will play and fully understand how hands play against each other.

Much of a player's preflop mathematical odds edge in limit hold'em comes from players playing hands with a weaker kicker against him or hands with an undercard (or better yet, two) against a wired pair. Getting those situations heads up rather than taking them against the field provides you with a stronger edge. That said, don't go overboard and try to isolate in situations in which you are unlikely to do so, thereby putting yourself in bad spots. It's a feel thing.

As we know, increasing edge puts positive numbers into that expectation field, which over time translates into real dollars earned. So, as the saying goes, make the most of it when you have the best of it, and put the increased edge that you've created to work for your bankroll.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com. His longtime collaborator John Bond is a free-lance writer in South Florida.