How to Begin a Session — Part VII

In Part VI of this series, I continued my discussion of things that you should do when you start a session. We looked at the following list:

1. Don’t play right away.
2. Look for negative inferences.
3. Assess each player’s current state of mind.
4. Determine your table position.
5. Take fewer chances.
6. At no-limit, buy in for the minimum.
7. If possible, establish a positive image.
8. Decide which players to exploit and which to avoid.

That column covered point No. 7, how to attempt to establish a positive image and how to deal with a negative one. This column will cover point No. 8, deciding which players to exploit and which to avoid. It also will summarize the complete series.
We’ll start with an example. Let’s suppose that you hold the Q♠ J♠ and are third to act after the big blind in a full game. After the under-the-gun player folds, the next player raises. What should you do?

With no other information, this is a fold. The raiser, acting from early position, should hold a strong hand, and there are several players yet to act behind you. While you have a pretty hand, it is nowhere near strong enough to enter the action.
But that assumes that you have no other information. Let’s suppose you knew that the raiser was loose and raised here with 25 percent of his hands. Suppose you knew that two of the players behind you called with almost every hand. Suppose you knew that the blinds defended liberally. In that case, you could reason that your Q-J suited, a classic volume hand, would almost certainly get the right number of preflop opponents to make calling attractive. One could still argue that a fold would be safer, since the next player could three-bet and possibly kill your presumed action, but calling here would be a reasonable alternative.

This example illustrates the obvious but often overlooked point that the more you know about your opponents, the better the decisions you can make. And the most important decision that you can make regarding opponents is this: Who is a likely source of profit and who is not?

Starting-hand charts and other devices provide excellent guidance for how to play if you have no other information. But your task at the table is to gather information so that you can put the hand charts aside and make your own situational decisions based on the tendencies and weaknesses of your opponents.

Learning those tendencies becomes your first mission when beginning a session:
• What is everyone’s individual raising range? Will a player open-raise from middle position with 9-8 suited or pocket fours, or only premium hands?

• Will a preflop raiser always bet if checked to, or will he sometimes check with a weak hand? If he checks, is it always to trap you when he has a powerhouse?

• If a player leads into a pot from early position, does he always have top pair or better? Can he be on a draw, or even a naked bluff?

• Will a preflop raiser continue to bet the turn every time, or will he slow down with just overcards or an underpair?

• How thinly will a player value-bet the river? Will he bet with a weak kicker, or bet second pair or worse?

• Will an out-of-position player who makes his hand on the river bet, try to check-raise, or vary his play?

Your task as you begin a session is to learn the answers to these and similar questions. The more you can answer, the better you can react to each opponent as an individual, and the better you can decide to gamble with the weaker players while engaging the stronger ones only when you have a powerful holding.

Conclusion: I realize that it may be difficult to follow the thread of a series of columns that took a few months to complete, so I’ll summarize the key points:
Don’t play right away. As much as possible, watch the game before you enter it. Gathering information is much easier if you are a disinterested observer, so do not post right away, and if online, try to watch target games before you join them.
Look for negative inferences. In addition to watching what opponents do, try to observe and make deductions from what they don’t do. Observing when a player checks or folds can give you insight into situations later when he bets or calls.
Assess each player’s current state of mind. Even if you know your opponents well, every day is different. Try to determine who is feeling optimistic and who is in a negative frame of mind. Who looks patient and who looks anxious to get involved? Is anyone on tilt, or close to it?

Determine your table position. First, evaluate the players on either side of you and decide how to play from your current seat. Second, decide which seat is best for you, and plan to move to it.

Take fewer chances. When you are less sure of how your opponents play, be more cautious. Your reads cannot be as precise, and their responses to your plays will not be as predictable. Wait until you know what is happening before deviating from straightforward plays.

At no-limit, buy in for the minimum. This is simple. You can always add chips to your stack if you buy in for the minimum, but you can never take them off. Once you determine who the dangerous players are and who the weaker ones are, you can adjust your stack size accordingly.

If possible, establish a positive image. People with positive images get respect, and therefore get to make easier decisions. In addition, they are believed, which helps bluffing. Players tend to attack players with negative images, making their decisions more difficult and their bluffs harder to pull off. It helps to begin a session slowly in order to develop a positive image, if possible.

Decide which players to exploit and which to avoid. Discussed above.

In summary, when you first join a game, resist the temptation to jump in and start playing. Take fewer risks until you understand the situation. Focus on understanding each opponent. Develop a strategy that accounts for your position relative to the other players. Try to present a winning image.

Pay attention to the right things and stay focused on developing your reads as quickly as possible to maximize your profits. ♠

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