02- 7-05, LearnTexasHoldem:
Adjusting Play Based On Different Points In Game
I have a question regarding how to modify your playing style at different points in the game. My friends and I play about once a week for around a year now and usually we play with 6 to 10 at a table. We begin with 20 dollar buy in and $.5/$1 blinds. What I have found is that during games when I win a big pot towards the start of the game, I tend to keep making money for the rest of the night, where as most games where I become short stacked within the first half an hour or so I am likely to get my pockets emptied. I would think then, that the correct strategy would be to play only premium hands at the start of the game, then loosen up as my stacks build up. However, I could also see this technique backfiring if you don't get those premium hands and then find yourself shortstacked during the middle of the game. So my question is, should one modify their playing style and hand selection according to the timeline of the game, and if so, how should one do this? Thanks a lot, your site has been a lot of help.
-Josh
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There are a few reasons for this:
1. There is inherent risk in playing any hand. When you play cards you try to balance risk and reward. If you play too few hands, you won't risk much but the reward won't be much either since everyone will guess what you have when you play (AA, KK, AK, etc). The flip side is that if you play too many hands, while you will be unreadable and get tons of action, you'll lose because you won't have the best starting hand enough.
Playing marginal hands in bad spots early on in a tourney is a sure way to lose (unless you get lucky). Generally you want start out very tight early on and then gradually loosen up as the blinds increase. Let other people knock themselves out by getting too anxious early on.
2. As the amount of opponents decreases, the relative hand strength that is needed to win increases. When you get down to 5 or less people at a table, all of a sudden your starting hand selection doesn't need to be as tight as before. Granted you'll need to base your moves on your opponents, but generally speaking what it takes to win when you have 4 opponents getting cards preflop compared to 9 will be much less. For example, a hand like AT may suck when you are at a 10 person table but when you are at a 5 person table more often than not it will be the best Ace.
3. Blinds become a deciding factor in how you play when you get down to a few opponents. First off, the blinds will come around a lot faster and eat up your chips quicker. Secondly, the blinds most likely will be large enough to dent your stack; you can't just muck everytime someone raises and hope to get AA; you'll need to defend them some.
Lastly, let me make a final comment about general holdem strategy when you are up against thinking players. Every strategy you come up with, especially ones that seem commonsensical, are prime candidates for manipulation. When your opponent sees you as a thinking player and the only logical move in a certain situation is X, you can show him Y and confuse the hell out of him; this doesn't only include bluffing either. No limit holdem offers a wide array of different moves that can be read any number of ways.
An expert no limit holdem player will be able to mold his moves just the right way to extract the maximum out of his prey. If you are just learning how to play and playing with other new players, you don't need to use much trickery, but as you progress, make an effort to add new moves to your arsenal.
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