Many students want to know how I size up a game. Once the brushperson assigns me a table and a seat, what do I do then? How much do I buy in for? What's my strategy on the first few hands? What am I looking for? How do I use those initial moments to gain an advantage that will last throughout the session? I'll share with you how I approach these initial decisions. Other players I know do things completely differently, so know that my way isn't the only way. But even if you do things differently, you might find it useful to know how other people approach the game.
I beat no-limit hold'em games by outthinking my opponents. In order to do that, I need two things: knowledge of their weaknesses and a strategy to exploit them. Without those two, I can't outthink anyone, and I'm stuck relying on fundamentals to beat the game. Over time, solid fundamentals will win, but a custom-tailored exploitative strategy will win faster and better.
When I first sit in a game, I want to learn about my opponents as quickly as possible. To that end, I generally buy in for about half of the maximum. For instance, in a $2-$5 game, I'll often buy in for $300 rather than the $500 maximum. In previous columns I pointed out that playing a shorter stack than your opponents bestows a couple of inherent advantages. So, when I first sit down in a game, while I still know relatively little about my opponents, I harness those advantages by playing short. Usually after an orbit or two, I top-up my stack to the table maximum. But occasionally if I think I'm better off playing short, I won't buy more. Buying in for less than the maximum gives you flexibility: Before any hand you can always buy more chips, but you can never take chips off the table.
I also play tight. I personally find that I'm more observant when I'm not in a hand than when I am. Perhaps the emotional involvement clouds my thinking, but my hand reading is sharper and my strategic thinking is cleverer when my money isn't on the line. So unless I get dealt something obviously worth playing, I sit out the first 10 hands or so and let my brain focus totally on profiling my opponents and formulating strategies.
What sorts of things am I looking for? First, I want to know what the "standard" preflop raise size is and how often people call it. In online games, initial preflop raises generally stay fairly small, but live games frequently will have their own standard size that can range from three times the big blind to 10 times or even more. (I've played in $1-$2 games in which players were routinely opening for $25 or $30.) I don't always stick to the standard raise - not at all, in fact - but I need to know what the other players expect and what looks ordinary and out-of-the-ordinary to them. I also want to know how many players call preflop raises. Let's say two players limp in a $2-$5 game, and then someone makes it $30. Are those limpers likely to call the raise or fold? Should the raiser expect one opponent or four? These observations help me to determine what hands I'll raise preflop and how big a raise I'll make.
Next, I'll look for a player who seems to be playing very loosely. If someone limps in and calls a raise more than once, I'll begin to focus on him. Not only are loose opponents very profitable, but also since they enter so many pots, it's likely that I'll play hands against them.
When I focus on a player, I try to develop a model for his post-flop decision-making. Just because someone is loose preflop doesn't mean he'll be loose throughout the hand. Some players are quite the opposite, in fact; they are happy to see the flop for a raise or reraise with a weak hand, but reluctant to play for big post-flop bets without a monster. That's my favorite kind of opponent, so I'm always delighted to see that pattern. I'll suspect such a player if I see him call a few preflop raises, but then fold to flop or turn continuation-bets.
Some loose players aren't so obliging. If they aren't folding, I try to figure out what sorts of hands they're calling with. Do they call the flop automatically, even if it seems they've missed? Do they call outsized bets with draws? (Just recently, within my first 10 hands at the table, I saw a loose player call a $900 all-in bet on the turn in a $200 pot with just a flush draw. Naturally, he got there on the river.)
I also look for tricky or aggressive players. When your opponents are docile, waiting for strong hands to make big bets or raises, you can get away with a lot of shenanigans. For instance, if it looks like no one wants a $40 pot, you can bluff only $5 or $10, saving considerable money when you get called. Or if you have a decent top pair but don't want to face a big bet, you can make a smallish value-bet, confident that you'll be raised only by better hands and called by the ones you beat. These shortcut plays can turbocharge your win rate in a soft $1-$2 or $2-$5 game.
Against aggressive players, however, they can backfire. Tricky players will sniff out your weakness and pressure you with bluffs and thin value-raises. So I try to figure out which players won't punish me for "getting out of line," and which ones might, and I don't use the shortcuts against the dangerous players.
That's my ritual when I begin a game. I buy in short, knowing that I can always buy more chips but can't take chips off the table. I throw away most of my early hands, and I spend my mental energy on identifying game conditions (especially how much people are raising preflop and how often they're calling) and profiling a few interesting-looking players. If someone seems particularly loose, I'll watch his post-flop play and try to develop a model for how he makes decisions. Then I'll tailor my strategy to exploit his mistakes. All the while I'm on the lookout for dangerous players who might prevent me from using some of my more obvious ploys.
In my next few columns, I'll put these ideas into practice, choosing some hypothetical game conditions and explaining how I'd react to them.
Ed will personally answer your questions at his online poker advice column, www.notedpokerauthority.com. He has authored four books on poker, most recently Professional No-Limit Hold'em: Volume 1.
