Isolation and Hand-for-Hand: Sounds Like Combat to Me!

It is hard to accept the fact that poker is still growing. Having been in the industry since '77, I never would have thought it would be more than 20 years later that poker's huge surge in growth would finally come. When I started out, there was a handful of states that had legal cardrooms, and some were located in the backs of bars and had only a few tables. Even in Las Vegas, there were few large poker rooms. California didn't see a large growth in poker until the mid-'80s, when games other than draw were legalized. The palaces built for that growth were nothing compared to the mania of today. And, of course, with this growth comes continued growing pains, and novice players trying to figure it all out. I received a few e-mails recently on the same topics, so I will discuss them here.

One reader asked about playing hand-for-hand in the final stages of a tournament. He wanted to know exactly what it means and why it is good or bad. Another reader asked about isolation plays.

In the final stages of a tournament, when players are getting near the money spots, a new dynamic in the play takes place. Players are jockeying for position and trying to get into the money. Some players play to win, while others play to make the money. There are very distinct playing differences between these two types of tournament entrants. To many, nothing other than first place and its accolades will do. To another segment, getting into the money is of prime importance.

As the bubble position (one spot away from the money) approaches, you can really see who is playing to win and who is merely trying to last long enough to make the money. This is when players used to slow down the action, sometimes to a painful crawl, to allow others at another table to go broke first. They would go into all of their Hollywood acts with the pained, thoughtful looks on their faces – all the while knowing they were going to muck the 9-2 they'd been dealt. This was done to allow the other table(s) still in action to play more hands and increase the chances that a short stack there would go broke.

To eliminate this tactic, tournament poker began playing hand-for-hand once the bubble position was reached. It frequently is also done at each significant money jump with more than one table remaining. This way, even if one player insists on needlessly stalling, the other table(s) is not penalized by playing more hands. The hands at each table start at the same time and the table that finishes a hand first holds up action until the other table is finished. Then, the next hand proceeds. It is funny that even with this hand-for-hand play, some players still insist on burning up the clock. Please realize that there is no point in doing this, and you are only hurting yourself and the other players equally in the long run.

Next, what is isolation all about? Does that mean playing poker in solitary? No, of course not. Isolation is a play used in poker to get the pot heads up against one opponent. There are many reasons you might want to do this; some are good and some are not so good. I am not going to focus on the use of this play, but merely explain what it is. If you want to isolate a player, you can do it by raising or reraising, thus making it too expensive for the other players to remain in the pot. For example, let's say someone bets and the guy you want to get heads up against raises it, and you are next to act. You should make it three bets. Now, anyone who has not yet acted must call three bets cold and the original bettor must call two bets. Oftentimes, only the raiser will call. This play is used when you are holding a hand that plays best when heads up or when you think you can totally outplay an opponent. You also can accomplish this goal merely by making the first raise if you are to the immediate left of the player you wish to isolate. Having to call two or more bets cold takes a much bigger hand than having to call just a single bet, so chances are, you will get to play your hand against only the one other player. Make sense? Class dismissed.

As always, please contact me with your poker-related questions and comments. Remember, if you are wondering what something means, it is likely someone else is, as well. Also, go to www.cardplayercruises.com for all of your poker cruise information.