Learning No-Limit From Scratch ­- Optimizing Their Fear

Many no-limit players aren’t fully comfortable with the game’s big-bet aspect. Some buy-in short to avoid being placed in difficult decisions for a large pot. It’s a smart strategy if your big-bet decisions aren’t as sound as your opponents’ are.

Others just “turtle up” and crawl into a shell when facing situations that can force them to end up playing for their stacks. They tend to be easily bluffed, particularly as the pot gets larger. Often no-limit games are inundated with this texture of opponent. Those games require adjusting your playing style to maximize your expected value (EV).

The exploitable weakness is that they fold too much in large pots. Against these opponents, waiting for a big hand and having them call with an inferior one to obtain his stack will be prolonged drawn out agony. It ain’t likely to happen. And when it does, you might find yourself against a bigger mitt. The good news is that you can steal your way to prosperity.

But you need set the stage and wisely select your opportunities. If your opponents are making exploitable errors by folding too much for large bets, you want a tight, non-bluffing image that strengthens your bluffs and makes them fold an even broader range. Adding a few extra hands in his folding range when the pot is large can add significant EV to your bluff. And there is a way to do that!

Poker is not played in a vacuum. How you play one hand affects your image and the play of future hands. That said, some players either don’t read hands well or they don’t situationally adjust well. When that texture of player is weak-tight, they just give up over and over, never realizing they are being robbed blind. And when they take a stand, it’s usually because they woke up with a solid hand. There is no point in giving up equity to manipulate and deceive your opponents when they won’t adjust anyway. Against those weak-tight opponents that don’t adjust, a continuously aggressive style is the correct strategy.

But when your opponents are beyond that level, they pay some sort of attention to their opponents’ play and adjust their strategies based on their observations. And, you can manipulate their observations to maximize your EV.

Keep in mind that we are only examining exploiting observant opponents who fold too much to big bets and that I’m scheming to strengthen the bluffs I make in large pot situations by creating a tight non-bluffing image. By choosing not to bet my marginal equity small pot bluffs and betting only in the strong equity, large pot bluffing situations, I’ll create the image in my observant opponents’ minds that I’m an unimaginative, unaggressive opponent. Even if I give up small amounts of EV by passing on the slightly positive EV bluffs, I’ll gain back the lost EV by strengthening the bluffs I make in large pots.

Say I raise preflop to $20 in a $2-$5 game, I’m called by two average texture players behind me, and I miss the flop. Even if continuation betting has a small EV, in a game where I’m looking to get most of my value from bluffing large pots, I’ll pass this opportunity in order to create a tight image and set up my future bluffs. Conversely, if I was in a game where my master-planned strategy was to induce opponents to call big bets, I’d fire this bluff every time.

In both cases, I’m making a play that my observant opponents will notice and setting up an image for myself to make a stronger EV play than I would possess had I taken the opposite approach. After several such situations, my opponents will be convinced I’m an unaggressive, seldom-bluffing opponent.

As far as selecting my opportunities, whenever I’m new to a table I discern what the better strategy will be for my current opponents. As the old saying goes, “It’s easier to ride a horse in the direction its going,” and the same concept applies to poker. If your opponents’ psychological nature is to “turtle up,” then set your image to make them think that you are an uncreative, nitty, non-bluffing player. Feeding the narrative already in their mind and adjusting your game to beat that mindset will be much easier and more productive than attempting to change their state of mind.

So, when your opponents are making errors by folding too much, think about how you can induce them to fold even more. Are they paying attention and adjusting to your tendencies? If they do, curtail your aggression in marginal situations so that they will be more apt to fold than they already are.

And never let them know that you’re doing it to them. They may never figure it out! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman. Should you wish any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-376-1515 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.RoyCooke.com. Roy’s blogs and poker tips are at www.RoyCookePokerlv.com. You can also find him on Facebook or Twitter @RealRoyCooke