02-28-06, LearnTexasHoldem:
Deception Is At A Premium
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There are numerous books, videos, seminars, websites, etc. Even this site educates players on how to play better. Also, you have a big rush of younger players coming into the games who do their homework. What this means for the games is that since a large percentage of the players know decent strategy, it is harder to get good value on big hands. You have to always ask yourself, how do I expect to beat a game? If everyone sees that I'm play tight, how am I going to get action on my big hands?
Continued Evolution of the Poker Games
This is where deception comes in. I think that as poker continues to evolve, the players that are going to do well are the ones that will be able to create a veil of deception, which forces other good players to have to call down with weaker hands.
What is deception in poker? Deception is playing a hand in a way that isn't the ideal way of playing it. The two ways of that are to either bet a hand aggressively that doesn't deserve it, or to call with a hand that deserves raising with -- either slow playing or over betting, basically. Since you aren't playing a hand ideally, there is an inherent cost. You are either taking on extra risk or you are giving up some money. The reason this is both necessary and beneficial is because of the effect it has on future hands. The goal is to simply create an environment in which you can win. You are essentially drawing good players out of their shell and forcing them to battle with you some in hands where they are out of position, and don't have strong holdings. See, even if you just break even on these plays, it adds a tremendous edge to your game since when you do have a big hand, chances are you'll get lots of action.
Now, even if you are at a table full of unthinking, uneducated players, they can still spot a rock. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to spot someone who isn't playing many hands and when does, usually has a big hand. This is why deception is key to winning, even if you play a tight game.
Improve your Texas Holdem
Think about your own game and how you think you'll beat other players. Also, think about your moves and how you generally play in different situations. Ask yourself these questions:
1. What does a raise preflop mean? Does it mean I always have big cards or a middle or big pair? What does a reraise preflop mean?
2. What does a call mean preflop? Do I only limp with certain hands? What does my calling of other player's raises preflop mean?
3. What does a bet mean on the flop?
4. What does a call mean on the flop?
5. What does a raise mean on the flop? How about on the turn?
See, these questions all define how you play and they all add up to creating an image. If someone is skilled and attentive, it would be easy to play against you. Let me give you an example of how deception might mean a bigger pot for you. You are heads up with AQ after raising preflop. The flop is nice, Q-5-2. The player bets into you. What do you do? The first reaction is to normally raise here, you have top pair best kicker. What does that really accomplish though? What if the guy has QT or KQ? What if he has 99 or 88? What if he has nothing but Ace high and is running a bluff? Are you happy that you raised here? This is a spot to be deceptive. You could just call his bet, call the turn bet and then either bet the river if he checks or raise the river or just call. This does a few things. First, it allows the opponent to bet a worse hand than yours. If you raise, you could potentially scare him off of a hand that has little or no chance of winning. Second, it sends the signal that your call doesn't always mean you don't have much. See a call or a bet or a raise can't always mean the same thing or your opponent will have an easy time figuring out what you have. Third, to win at poker, you have to not pay off opponent's good hands and get paid off on yours. That means you are trying to get as much value on your good hands as possible. Sometimes the best way to get maximum value isn't to play a hand as aggressively, or text book style. The best way for this hand may be to just call, call and bet the river, making a good size pot.
Let me give another example that came up in a discussion with a buddy who is playing middle limit holdem (limit holdem). We talked at length about how he was trying to beat the game and how he was playing in different situations. One of the main factors was how he was playing with marginal hands in middle position after no one limped in. Before he was coming in for raises with hands like KQ, KJ, AT, JT etc. My question for him, being that he was a tight player, is how he expects this to beat the other opponents? Say he raised with KQ in middle position. Why do this? This seems like a standard play, but why? What is the reason for this raise? Raising in the back after everyone limped in I can see merit in because chances are that either a K or Q on the flop will be the winner, and you are building a pot with a solid hand. 
If you open raise with KQ though, are you happy if players behind you fold weak Kings and Queens? See in poker, you want players in with hands that you dominate. The idea of raising to limit the pot only applies to made hands. You raise with AA because it is both the best hand and you don't want to get into a pot with 7 opponents. Not so with KQ. See, the loose players, and some good players, are more than happy to limp in with weak hands behind someone else who limps, but they think twice about calling raises. Think about what a player in the big blind might do with K5 if my friend, being a solid player, raised? Chances are it would be hard to get any action from the player in the big blind, when he wants his action. If he limped with KQ, the player in the big blind would most likely have to pay the hand off now, after flopping top pair. The limp preflop might accomplish a number of things. Number one, it adds deception because his call preflop doesn't always mean one type of hand. Secondly, it helps to create a softer image, instead of the rock image, which is also good for the table. You don't want to turn the table into a tight, aggressive, crappy game.
Not Giving away Information
Thirdly, the majority of the time he raised preflop with these hands, he would be against one or two opponents, miss the flop and after betting get check raised, costing him four small bets every time. If he limped, it would only be one bet after missing the flop. Also, he would have a much better idea of where his opponent's hand strength was postflop, because the tendency for players is to check to the preflop raiser, giving up no information, while if they check around to him after he just called preflop, that suggests weakness, meaning he could pick up some of those pots more easily with a bet. (Players are more likely to give up hands like bottom pair and middle pair against someone who called preflop and bet rather than someone who raised preflop, since they assume any low ranking flop missed the preflop raiser.)
In addition to this, it tempters your tiltness some because you don't feel nearly as married to pots as if you raised preflop. For some reason, if you raise preflop it feels as though this is your pot, the spot light is on you, and you have to win it. Not so if you just limp. Lastly, and most importantly, it allows the opponents to play worse hands than his. This is a big shift in thought from the standard way of thinking which is something like, "I've got a good hand, time to raise." One hand that I played a while back has stuck in my mind and shows the value of a little deception. I had AK in a 40/80 game in late position after five players, including a solid player, limped in. Typically I would raise this hand, but I didn't that time because with so many players seeing the flop, I wanted to see the flop before raising. (Also, with a smaller pot, it skews the odds some for chasing, unlike having a pot with 10 small bets in it already.) The flop was King high. Everyone checked to the solid woman who bet, I raised. Everyone folded and we ended in a huge pot. She ended up having KQ. As the hand was unfolding, I knew exactly what she was thinking: that her kicker must be good since if I did have a better kicker -- AK -- I would have surely raised preflop. I ended up making way more money from her than I should have, and pissing her off, because of that one little deceptive play.
To finish up, the goal of this article is to not give you exact situations to be deceptive in. Rigid rules are not what I consider advanced poker strategy. You want to instead think in terms of general concepts that guide and influence your play. When looking for plays to be deceptive, you want to do it in a way that minimizes risk. Reraising with 72 will add deception, but the cost is too high to make it worth while. This is analogous to advertising costs in business. Sure you'll get tons of business if you advertise like crazy, but it may also put you out of business. You need to do it enough, but still maintain a healthy profit margin. And when you are making deceptive plays, it is important to keep a finger on the pulse of the table, meaning how they are viewing your play. Contrast winning a big pot with 76s after raising preflop with just winning a couple hands with AA and KK. The way the table views you will be much different. Likewise, if you just got caught bluffing, there is no reason to run another bluff for a while until you show down some real hands. Finally, in loose games where you are already getting lots of action on all hands, deception goes out the window -- now you are only concerned with betting and raising for value, not for creating action for future hands.
* To cover my bases, I want to point out that some play are just foolhearty. This article isn't suggesting that you limp in with QQ or always try to mix up your play. Like I said above, most of your hands should be played normally; occasional deception added only to get action on the good hands
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