Are You Playing Backward?

Back when I was playing $3-$6 hold'em, I noticed a play that I called "the dance." Typically, in the games I played, five or six players would see the flop. If a pair came on the flop – say, J-6-6 – one player would bet and a couple of others would call. On the turn, the player who had bet would bet again, and another player would raise, or check-raise if out of position. The bettor would then call, and call the river, only to be shown some hand with a 6 in it.



I must have seen this dance more than a thousand times. The steps never changed. In all that time, I don't remember that a player who had flopped trips actually bet the flop. In fact, it was one of the most reliable reads I ever saw. If a player bet or raised the flop, he did not have trips. You could take it to the bank.



As I progressed in limits and sophistication, I began to notice players who would bet their trips, or check-raise with them on the flop. This straightforward play was actually quite deceptive, as pretty much everyone expected a player with trips to wait for the turn to announce them. In other words, the straightforward play was meant to be tricky, as the more common play was deceptive. How strange!



In recent years, this concept of checking when you have something and betting when you have nothing has become something of an epidemic. "Playing backward," as it is called, has pervaded every aspect of the game, from smooth-calling pocket aces before the flop to checking the river when you make a flush, hoping to check-raise.

Let's see if we can figure out some reasons for this type of play, and take a look at a hand from the most backward player I have ever seen.



Why do people play backward? I can think of four reasons:
• They learn from televised poker.

• It feels like the clever thing to do.

• It sometimes works.

• It's fun.



They learn from televised poker: People have always played backward on occasion, but the impact of televised poker has dramatically increased the instances. Players on TV seem to play backward almost routinely, checking when they hit the flop, betting draws, making huge all-in moves with nothing and fairly small bets when they have a huge hand. And why are these experienced players doing this?



First, they are doing it because they are playing no-limit poker, in which playing backward can occasionally have enormous rewards. Even if it is incorrect on occasion, those occasions when it works can bust a player. Viewers trying to apply these "lessons" to limit poker make the error of thinking, "If it works for these guys, it should work for me." They forget that limit is a different game, and that an opponent only needs to call one more bet, not some huge all in with their tournament survival at stake.



Second, these final-table players are doing it because, with very large and increasing blinds and antes, final-table play is far more aggressive than early play in a tournament, which, among professionals, is far tamer. It's not that you won't see aggression, but not to the extent you will when players are already in the money, the table is shorthanded, and the blinds constitute a large percentage of everyone's stack.



Finally, the TV editors select hands to showcase exciting plays, bluffs that work, and clever traps. Plays in which a participant bets his hand and wins end up on the cutting room floor.



It feels like the clever thing to do: People play backward because they want to feel smart. Lots of people take up poker because they enjoy the intellectual stimulation of a game that combines deduction, induction, and trickery. They love the game's puzzle aspect. For such people, just betting when they have something and checking when they don't is not very fulfilling. They find it far more thrilling to check-raise or trap their opponent. They call with big hands and raise with draws. They may not realize they are costing themselves money, but even if they do, they would prefer to enjoy their cleverness than take home a few more bucks.



It sometimes works: Everything works in poker, sometimes. If you call a raise with 7-2, you might flop a big hand and win a nice pot. That does not mean you made the right play, and as we know in this case, you made the wrong one. Similarly, if you put in lots of bets with a draw, sometimes you will get there.



If you make your hand and bet, occasionally the other guy will fold, and you will wish you had checked. But, more frequently, the best way to make money is to put some in the pot yourself when you have a good hand. Let the others pay to chase you.



While everything works sometimes, most often, simply betting your good hand results in far higher profits. Of course, poker is a game of balance and deception, so varying your play is critical against tough opponents. But even then, varying your play does not always mean being deceitful. It mostly means playing your cards as you get them, and occasionally making a different play.



It's fun: Suddenly revealing a well-hidden hand on the river with dramatic success is fun. You get to talk about the hand for a while, and tell your friends the great story. Just betting and raising when you have the best of it does not yield interesting anecdotes, and it isn't even that much fun at the table – unless, of course, you find winning extra bets fun.



Introducing Rey Alp: Recently I played against a guy I will call Rey Alp. Rey was the most backward player I have ever seen. My introduction to Rey was a hand he played early on, which he checked and called throughout. On the river, he checked, as did everyone else. He tabled top set for a full house and took the pot down, making the absolute minimum.



The next hand, he went four bets on the flop, and bet the turn and the river. What did he have? Nothing, of course. The rest of the session progressed similarly. Whenever he bet, he had little or nothing. When he checked, watch out!



Eventually, I played a hand against him. I open-raised with pocket nines from middle position, and Rey three-bet me. Everyone else folded, and I called. Already, it was good sign; if he had a big pair, I am certain he would have called my raise rather than reraise. The flop came A-J-J. I checked, and Rey bet, another good sign. It is 100 percent certain that he would have checked a jack here, and most likely an ace, as well. Since I was pretty certain he was well behind, I decided to play a bit backward myself. The turn was a 10, and he bet again when I checked. Since Rey was a dedicated backward player, that meant he did not have a straight, either.



I was sad to see that the river was another ace, as it meant I was playing the board. I had lost my edge. However, I found a solution. I checked, and of course Rey bet. I was certain from all previous evidence that Rey was also playing the board, so I check-raised. Rey folded, confiding in me later that he had a small pair, which is what I suspected all along.



Had Rey Alp been any sort of normal player, I easily could have lost this hand, as I might have given up on the flop. Certainly, had I won, it would have been because we chopped or he gave up, and the pot would have been much smaller. Only Rey could manage to lose the maximum because of the way he played throughout the session.



Conclusion: As I moved up in limits, I noticed another trend. The best players almost always bet and raised when they had the goods. They occasionally made a move, but most of the time, when called, they showed down a very good hand that they had played strongly throughout.



In fact, when poker writers say that a successful player must be selective and aggressive, we mean that he must play good hands, and when he has them, he must play them strongly. The modern tendency to play good hands weakly has hidden costs both in missed bets and in allowing cheap drawouts by opponents. You can make a lot more money if you avoid playing backward.

Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Please visit his web site at http://www.barrytanenbaum.com/, or e-mail him at [email protected].