09-25-07, LearnTexasHoldem:

Will my style work in high-stakes games?

Question: (this is the fourth in a series of questions)

I'm not thinking that high-limits means a bluff fest. I know that the basis of all poker is making a hand and getting it paid off.

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But better players play stronger and look to control the action no matter if they're value betting, bluffing, semi-bluffing etc. And in order to get my hands payed off in the future too, I need to stay unpredictable and in control.

Here's where your style might differ a lot from mine and that will obviously change your views of things. Whatever the case, I like to play small ball poker with me as the aggressor most of the time. My main objective with this style is to use position and table image to make other players feel that I very often seem to be in a pot and that I'm always looking to take pots away from them.

I'm actually not a big bluffer, but I make sure that I open often and bet a lot in small pots to make sure I get action on my big hands. That's the actual main objective: to play big pots with big hands.

How does this style translate to bigger games? Can I expect players to "forbid" me of controlling the game this way by re-raising me more often or calling me in position just to see what I'll do on the next street?

/ Johan

Answer:

The way you play is very good and should work well at higher limits too. Too create the illusion that you give action all the time, when what you really do is getting involved in big pots only with big hands, is a very smart way of playing Texas Hold 'em.

Again, against players you face a lot you have to mix it up. You might need to bluff at every street now and then, with, for example, a flush draw to get paid off when you really have a big hand.

People will re-raise you more pre-flop to try to take control in the pot and this can be rather frustrating when you are not used to it. There is no real advice on how to handle this kind of situation. A good thing is of course to try to get the seat to the left of a habitual re-raiser.

Also read:
How do people handle one-pair hands in high-stakes games?
How to exploit weak play in short-handed games?
What NL games do you play?

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