‘Easy’ Things to Do to Win at Poker — Part II

In my last column, I began a discussion of things that you should do at the table to help you make better decisions. I provided the following list:

• Pay more attention
• Select the best games
• Learn how your opponents play
• Study betting patterns
• Analyze every situation
• Plan in advance
• Play focused on the game
• Count the pot
• Compute the odds
• Figure out how the play might go
• Estimate what your opponents think you hold and how you should respond
• Then, make a decision

In that column, I discussed paying more attention. Here, I will continue with the next bullet point.

Select the best games: Much has been written about game selection, some of it by me (“The Keys to Game Selection,” Card Player, April 25, 2007, available online at www.CardPlayer.com). In this discussion, I want to focus on game selection in regard to how it helps you make good decisions, rather than simply looking for a weak game.

Not every “good” game is good for you. Over the years, I have had numerous students tell me tales of woe, mostly about a game they chose because the “book” said it was good, so they sat there miserably and lost money. Assess what you are looking for in a game, and, most importantly, what you are unhappy with. Some games, while profitable, may be outside your skill level. Others may be outside your “psychological comfort level,” meaning you could beat them if you played your best, but for some reason, you cannot maintain that playing level. If you are not comfortable, you probably will not play well.

Maniac games: For example, some players relish games with maniacs. After all, what could be more profitable than a game in which one or more players are putting in tons of money on every hand without even caring what cards they hold? Well, the truth is, these games can be very profitable, but they are not for everyone.

First, these games come with huge volatility. You will make money if you play correctly (and correct play is quite different from what it is in a normal game), but you also will often experience enormous swings. These swings can be deadly if (a) you are on a short bankroll, (b) you automatically quit playing once you lose a predetermined amount, or © you play poorly when stuck. Also, these games are often very boring, because if you are playing correctly, you are forced to the sidelines on almost every hand. Regardless of how profitable these games may theoretically be, if you don’t like them, don’t play in them.

Loose, passive games: The same goes for loose, passive games. The “book” says that if your opponents play too many hands, you should profit. It also says that if they do not play aggressively when they have good situations, you will benefit. All of this is true, but these games also come with significant challenges.

Your good hands will often lose, as one of your many opponents will stay in and draw out. You will sometimes make aggressive plays directly into the teeth of much more powerful hands that have been played surprisingly passively, costing you money and making you feel foolish and possibly upset.

Along with this comes frustration and a temptation to play more like your weak opponents. (“If you can’t win with good cards …”) Again, just because a game is “good,” it does not mean it is good for you.

FUD: This brings us to the concept of FUD. FUD, which stands for “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt,” is described in my book Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy as the set of emotions that you want opponents to feel about you. You want them to fear you, to be uncertain about your cards, and to doubt how to deal with you. As you play, adjust your playing style to exploit situations while remaining unpredictable, so that opponents develop this FUD.

In some games, you will feel a measure of FUD toward certain other players. You can use this to judge how comfortable you are in a game, and how likely you are to make enough good decisions to win. If you are feeling FUD with more than one or two opponents (or even just that many if you cannot avoid them consistently), find a different game.

Finding good games for you: As I play, I try to be aware of the other games that are going on, and I am ready to switch if I see a better opportunity. Sometimes when I do change tables, someone from the one that I left comes over and asks me why I moved. Even if I am willing to discuss my game preferences in depth with this person, I am reluctant to tell him. Just because I think the new game is better for me, it does not mean it would be better for someone else. Perhaps there is a loose player against whom I can gain a major advantage. Maybe I know a player with a tell that I can exploit. Or, maybe I just felt that some of the players in my old game were feeling too comfortable and playing a quality game.

I have a large tolerance for volatility, and I do not let my emotions run away if I lose a significant amount of money. Not everyone can do this (indeed, it took me a long time to be able to do so). So, just because you like a game, or a book tells you the game should be profitable, you may not have a winning experience. In fact, some “good” games may be quite costly to you.

As you play over many sessions, pay attention to what made you comfortable and uncomfortable. Be careful to understand that just because you ran well, that did not make the game good, and just because you lost, that did not make the game bad. Judge whether you were able to play well, and keep playing well. Whatever types of games those were, they are what you should look for. At least for now, that will be your personal game-selection criteria, and that is what you should use to search for the best games.

Next issue, we will look at learning how your opponents play, and studying betting patterns.

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold’em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies, both available at www.CardPlayer.com. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].