In the last issue, I recommended that you observe the players for up to a full orbit when you first sit down in a game. Having done that, you are now ready to post. But how should you play the first few hands?
In general, you should start slowly. Like any person walking into an unfamiliar environment, you need to feel your way around and get the lay of the land. In poker, this is particularly true, because you are playing a game of decisions, and you do not yet have sufficient experience at a new table to make very good ones.
Let's look at a typical situation. You posted (or took a free hand) in the cutoff seat and folded to a raise. The next hand, you pick up the A
Q
. After one player limps in, two fold and the next raises. You have watched a few hands, and this player has not yet raised preflop. What should you do?
One could make a good case here for raising, calling, or folding. For the most part, the rationale would depend on the range of hands that the raiser may hold. If the raiser has a wide range, a three-bet could be the right play. If the raiser is tight, you should fold.
But you really have no idea. He can't be too wild, because he has not raised in the few hands you have watched, but that does not provide much of a clue. I believe you should fold. You have no basis for making a good decision, and you should avoid marginal situations until you know the game and players better, and have established an image of your own.
In fact, at the start of a session, you should do all of the following:
• Play conservatively.
• Win the first hand that you play to the end.
• Establish a positive image.
Play conservatively: After watching a few hands in a $10-$20 game, you took the big blind and folded to a raise. In the small blind, you pick up the Q
6
. An early-position player limps in and everyone else folds. Once again, a case can be made for completing, folding, or raising. And again, inasmuch as you are new in this game, you should avoid playing a marginal hand, especially when out of position. Under these circumstances, this is a fold.
I selected hands that most people would play to make a point. When you first begin to play, your decisions will not be crisp, because there are too many unknowns. Since you profit from good decisions and lose from poor ones, wait until later in the session to make plays, when your knowledge of the players and ability to exploit them are greater.
Win the first hand that you play to the end: This seems like a good idea; in fact, why not just win all of the hands that you play? Well, you can't, because you miss draws, others make draws, and you unknowingly don't have the best hand.
So, why is the first hand different? The positive impact on the entire session of winning the first hand is worth giving up some marginal expected-value situations early rather than playing them out. This concept reinforces the previous one of avoiding marginal situations.
After an early-position limper, you raise from the cutoff with the A
K
. The big blind and the limper call. The flop is 8
7
3
. The big blind bets, and the limper folds. In this situation, as in the others, any play could be correct. But, early in the session, you should fold. If you play the hand to the end, you can't be confident about winning even if you hit an ace or king. And if you are planning to call the big blind down with ace high, or put a play on him by representing a big pair, he may just call because he does not know or respect you yet.
In another hour or two, when your image has been established or you have learned that the player leads at all small flops against one or two players, you may play differently. Gains and setbacks are part of the game, but you should take extra measures to ensure that you do not get off to a losing start.
Winning an early hand, preferably the first one, has two effects. First, it puts you in a positive frame of mind. Few things are worse in poker than losing several hands in a row when you first sit down, legitimate losses or not, and having to rebuy before you have ever stacked a chip.
The difference between feeling like a winner (playing from strength) and feeling like you are charging uphill all day can have a major influence on your results.
Establish a positive image: This is the second part of the benefit of booking early wins. It helps put your opponents into a negative frame of mind. By establishing that you are a winner, opponents respect you. In general, you can feed off this respect to make bold plays later in the session that have a greater chance to be successful.
Once you have shown down some winners, particularly if they are good hands, your opponents gain the impression that you have the goods when you play. They become more predictable, as they do not want to make moves against a player (you) who seems to be so solid. You can then exploit your winning image by making an occasional bluff, an isolation three-bet, or other play.
If you start off losing a few hands, the opposite is true. Now, you must play straightforwardly, as any move you make will be viewed with suspicion. Because you have held losing hands, your opponents feel freer to bluff or challenge you, thus making your decisions more difficult. This is not the place you want to be when you begin a session, and it is worth avoiding even at the expense of laying down a marginal hand that you would like to play.
Conclusion: I so strongly believe this that when I do happen to start a session off on a significant losing note, even if I had the best of it each time, I request a table change. Even poor players, if they feel empowered and confident, are harder to play against than usual. Of course, I am not going to jump from a game of weak players into a game of sharks just because my image is suffering, but all things being equal, I take the table change and start over. If I am in a place with only one game, I take a break and return to rehabilitate my image.
Hours of subsequent successful play depend on having and maintaining a positive image. Of course, on rare occasions, I get too much respect, and I have methods to fix that, as well. But the bread and butter of limit hold'em is making good decisions, and those decisions are much easier to make when your opponents respect you and you have confidence. Both of these things grow from a conservative approach that establishes a winning pattern for each session you play.
Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Please visit his website at www.barrytanenbaum.com or e-mail him at [email protected].
