Plugging Some Leaks - Part VI

We are now more than halfway into this series on common mistakes in poker, leaks that can and should easily be plugged. In the previous five parts, I discussed and analyzed 10 different leaks; in this column I will try to plug three more of them.

Leak No. 11: Choosing the wrong type of game

On numerous occasions, I have seen good, but not great, limit hold'em grinders enter large no-limit hold'em tournaments, or take a shot at highly aggressive pot-limit Omaha live games in which they don't stand a chance. A good player should always be aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. If your main strength is waiting patiently for the best hand and then trying to get paid off, you should try to select soft, full ring games only. If your main strength is playing very aggressively and being relentless, you might want to focus on shorthanded games on the Internet, or tournaments in which aggressive play gets rewarded. If your main strength is reading your opponents and playing the player, no-limit hold'em live games or heads-up matches should probably be your game of choice.

But I often meet overly aggressive players in full limit hold'em ring games in which they don't stand a chance against tight-aggressive players, and I see rocks, whose only strength is their hand selection, try to tackle aggressive big-bet games against tough opposition. In my view, you should always be aware of your limitations, and choose your games based upon your own abilities. By doing so, you might very well outperform players who may be more talented, experienced, and/or skillful than you, but are somewhat negligent in the area of game selection and often play in games in which they are not much of a favorite.

Leak No. 12: Not bringing enough money to a poker game

If you take the game of poker seriously, you should make the proper preparations before entering a game. One of these preparations is bringing enough money to play comfortably, enough to withstand an extended streak of bad luck. I often see people with only $100 in their pockets playing in a $3-$6 game, or people with only $2,000 on them playing in a highly aggressive $500 buy-in pot-limit game. Why do I think this is bad?

• Even if you are in fact the best player at the table, the fact that you don't have enough money on you might cloud your judgment, and cause you to play scared. For instance, the $3-$6 player with just 100 bucks on him might fold against a $6 turn bet, reasoning, "Well, if I am wrong, I might lose $12 total, and I'm down $70 already," when in fact his opponent may very well be bluffing or semibluffing.

• If you are in a great game, get unlucky two or three times, and then run out of money, you might have to leave, when in fact your long-term expectation for this game is huge. Now, you may be forced to go home and come back later when the game might not be as good as it is now. (Even when you do have enough money accessible to you but you need to go to the cashier or the ATM to get it, the few moments that you are away from the table may be very important. You may miss a couple of hands when you would be on or near the button, or when one or two players are stuck and steaming. And perhaps even worse, a very weak player with a lot of money in front of him may decide to leave while you're gone, whereas if you were still at the table, you might have convinced him to play a little longer.) By having enough money on you, you will be able to base your decision of whether or not to play upon the potential profitability of the game, rather than on any irrelevant monetary considerations.

Leak No. 13: Betting tempo and time taken to think as indications of a player's strength

In limit hold'em, quite a few weak players will often call your turn bet very quickly, because they have made up their mind and are simply unwilling to lay down their fairly good, but not great, hand. If you are up against players who fit this description and they quickly called your turn bet when in fact you did not have the goods you were representing, you should almost always refrain from bluffing on the river, because their quick call on the turn indicated that they will automatically call a river bet, as well. (Had they taken a lot of time to make that call on the turn, it might be worth it to fire one more time. If it is very hard for a weak player like this to make that call on the turn, he must have very little. This means that he may simply give it up without much thought if the river card doesn't improve his hand, and you will have gotten away with a bluff against someone who doesn't fold easily.)

Compare this to a good and highly experienced player in a big-bet game. Quite often, players like this will call a big bet on the turn very quickly in order to discourage their opponent from going for the big bluff on the river. Their reasoning: If after a sign of strength like this (calling a large bet within a heartbeat, almost without needing to think) their opponent is still able to bet on the river, it is highly unlikely that he is bluffing or betting a weak hand, simply because he would be expecting to get called. What comes from this is that good players who think for a very long time before calling a big bet on the turn will almost always call on the river, as well, while a quick call on the turn may actually be an indication that they are not willing to call the final bet on the river.

If you look around, you will see that many good big-bet players and also some tournament players use this technique. Now, if you can recognize these patterns in their play, you might be able to take advantage of that, for instance by refraining from making that final big bluff if your opponent called your turn bet reluctantly, and by firing once more if your opponent called your turn bet quickly. All in all, it pays to know the player. You should know that when Player A calls you quickly, he probably doesn't want you to bet again, while that same quick call from Player B might mean that he is simply committed and would not dream of folding on the river, no matter how much money you may bet at him. So, pay attention to your opponents' tendencies; you may very well get rewarded for it.