Playing the Small Pots

Good poker players adjust their strategies based on weaknesses that they observe in their opponents. And they work constantly to identify and think of ways to exploit those weaknesses. By designing and executing effective plays that exploit their opponents’ weaknesses, they implement more positive-expectation plays than their opponents who are playing in an “autopilot” manner do. The greater the volume of money wagered with a positive expectation, the higher the level of expectation. That translates into a higher hourly win rate, which translates into more money in your pocket. And that’s a fine place for money!

We had just started a $30-$60 limit hold’em game at Bellagio, and everyone was playing cautiously. A very tight, unimaginative player limped in from up front, and the field folded to me in the small blind; I was holding the 8 5. With a two-chip, three-chip blinds structure, and getting 8-1 pot odds, it was an easy call for me, even though my hand was a weak one.

But, was there a better play available? My chess-playing father often told me as a child, “If you see a good move, look for a better one.” I pondered the circumstances of the situation. The limper had a small range of hands. He would have raised with all of his medium to high pairs, as well as his big aces. And Mr. Tight Limper wouldn’t play suited connectors or small pairs from up front in a tight game. His hand was almost certainly two big cards, but not A-K or A-Q, and also not lower-quality big-card holdings, such as J-10 or Q-10 offsuit. Also, he was not the type to take one off on the flop with overcards if he thought his hand could be in jeopardy if he hit.

In short, I had a good read on his holding and his potential actions. I thought about the value of making an aggressive play on the pot, exploiting my opponent’s weakness of playing too predictably. Since I could read Mr. Tight Limper well, and would have good judgment on whether he hit the flop or not, I wanted to increase my probability of winning the pot when we both missed the flop.

But there was an additional factor to consider: What was the big blind going to do? His tendencies were to play tight, and he did not automatically defend his blinds. If anything, he tended to fold his blinds too much. Thinking that playing my hand aggressively had higher expectation than calling, I fired in a raise.

Getting the big blind to fold would increase my chances of winning without hitting my hand. Obviously, the fewer people I needed to fold, the better my chances of winning with a bluff. And raising also would increase the post-flop betting price of my aggressive play against Mr. Tight Limper. Also, since Mr. Tight Limper knows that I am a solid player, raising out of position would cause him to read me as having a huge hand, most likely a high pair, making a call on the flop with marginal overcards seem like a risky proposition. The big blind mucked, and Mr. Tight Limper called. So far, so good!

The flop came 9 6 3. I fired a wager into the pot, and Mr. Tight Limper tossed his hand into the muck. I raked in the $180 pot, $90 of it sugar.

Now, I understand that this is not a very exciting poker story. And while big pots are way more exciting and make much more of a difference in your day, your play of small pots has a huge impact on your long-term results. Playing them well adds up to significant expectation over time. For that reason, you must maintain your focus during small-pot situations, and not just give up on them due to their size.

This hand speaks to exploiting Mr. Tight Limper’s weakness of playing his hands too predictably, which enabled an observant player (me) to read his range of hands with a great degree of accuracy and design a positive-expectation play.

How do you spend your time between hands? Are you flirting with the cocktail waitress? Sweating a bet on a sporting event? Or, are you watching the poker game — noting the types of hands that your opponents play from given positions and the betting strategies that they use, and thinking about how to take advantage of similar types of situations if they occur again?

Reading poker situations well, knowing the styles of your opponents — how they play in various situations, what their range of hands is likely to be, how they will react to various moves — and initiating counter-strategies is what separates great players from mediocre players. Yeah, it’s hard work, but the dividends are worth the effort.

So, maintain your focus — even when playing the small pots!

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas real-estate broker/salesman in 1989. Should you wish to get any information about real-estate matters — including purchase, sale, or mortgage — his office number is (702) 396-6575, and his e-mail address is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You also may find him on Facebook.