Generation Next -- Ken Leathart

Online no-limit hold’em tournaments are like walking a mile-high tightrope; they’re a precarious balancing act between hyperaggression and a “tight is right” strategy. Teeter one way or the other too much and your chip stack will eventually spiral downward. Online tournament star Ken Leathart understands how to adjust to the solid, tough players as well as the spewing fish, and still maintain the equilibrium required to accumulate chips.

“I try to balance out my fits of aggression and my full-scale inner nit,” said Leathart. “I’m working on scaling back the risks, and am playing more small-pot poker. Sure, you need to take calculated risks, but not too many by calling too much. I should be avoiding some of those spots. It’s my natural desire to accumulate chips, but it can become a shortsighted focus. I’m learning to master the balance between the two.”

Leathart has capitalized on the meticulous self-examination of his online game to the tune of more than $1 million in cashes. Each day, he fires up 10-20 tournaments online and fully expects to make a few final tables each week.

Yet, every so often, he loses his balance. In their desire to build a stack early and fast, even the best of players can bulldoze ahead in only one gear — blind aggression. And even massive stacks can be toppled in an instant. But, a nagging self-awareness, honed through an intensive work ethic, yanks Leathart back to the present as he strives to play perfect poker, one hand at a time.

Craig Tapscott: You mentioned when we first started talking that you had two major epiphanies that helped your game grow to a new level.

Ken Leathart: Yes. The first was the “I can bet” epiphany. Over and over, I saw that most people fold quite a lot, or at least you can make them fold by being more aggressive. A lot of players will call the flop with a wide range of weakish hands, which allows me to double-barrel a large percentage of the time because they fold so often on the turn on a number of boards. This happens when the perceived hand that I hold becomes stronger than the wide range that they have. By becoming aware of this, I learned that I can throw my chips around more and be effective.

CT: What else?

KL: The second epiphany was that the antes in multitable tournaments are very important. They are the key to maintaining your stack and to building it. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not picking up the antes enough. If I pick up a few pots and antes when someone else wouldn’t, it adds up to a few big blinds. The next time I raise, that raise is a freeroll. And if I raise and have to fold — I’m even. Padding your stack with those antes is vital.

CT: One thing I see some very good players doing online is minimum-raising once the antes kick in. Is this an effort to risk as little as possible to accomplish the same thing as raising three or four times the big blind preflop?

KL: To some extent. The basic idea, once again, is that people fold too much. If you look at the math behind the mini-raise preflop, you will find that it really doesn’t have to work that often to show a profit. The most likely thing to happen is that everyone folds. The blinds may flat [flat-call], but then you don’t mind playing a hand in position. It also allows you to play and raise more hands, and can give you a looser image that can pay off when you have a big hand.

CT: And many players still fear that a mini-raise signals a big hand.

KL: Yes, and people don’t attack it enough to counter your doing it. Sure, you may have to fold occasionally, but it’s not enough to negate the times that you accumulate chips.

CT: What other sage advice would you like to pass on to players who are struggling to build their tournament game?

KL: One of the biggest keys in no-limit poker is fold equity — making people fold. It’s harder to call than it is to bet. If they are not willing to call with a wide range, they’re going to be folding in a lot of situations. You have to take advantage of that. But there are some players who think you’re bluffing all the time, and they will never fold. You obviously don’t want to bluff those people at all. Sometimes you find that out the hard way (laughing). I have.