Caleb was working on a blog, he would talk about it with me a bit and ask for opinions about his first ever post, which I decided to post. He was always so critical on himself so he never posted it in fear that people would just laugh at it....This just shows what kind of poker mind he had and how talented he really was
The poker instruction field is so saturated these days. A person can go to dozens of sources to get their fill of many concepts that have come to be second nature to many in the poker world. There is so much to consume in the way of math, ranges, bet sizes, and theorems that one could read for months and still not have scratched the surface. That is all fine and good. But what about the intangibles? There are so many facets of the game that go ignored, underanalyzed and generally overlooked by most of the poker populace. This blog will attempt to get you thinking about poker and the mindset of your opponents in ways you may not have before, in some instances before you even play a hand at the table with them. I will focus mostly on live play, but I won't pigeonhole myself in case I feel like breaching a topic I think about in the online game or even things away from poker that can transcend to your game.
Some will read this blog and decide that I overanalyze situations that don't deserve merit. I admit that this may be the truth, I don't know. But I do hope that my thoughts on the subject at least make people start realizing there is more to gain from factors outside the actual hands of poker taking place, and begin to dynamically analyze things as I try to do. You may be good or bad at it, but as far as I can tell, anything that gets you thinking more about the game can't be a bad thing.
I recently remembered a hand I played in late 2010, and it got the gears moving. Since the hand was so long ago, the exact details are a little hazy, but we'll try to get past that. The game was 10/25 no limit, and I had only been a semi-regular in the game at this particular casino for about a month, maybe having put in 100 hours. We'll call my opponent in the particular hand “George.” George usually plays a much bigger game, a 300/600 HOSE rotation which also has no limit hold'em and pot limit omaha rounds that play 25/50 with a 6k cap. George would play the bigger straight no limit games either when the big mix wasn't going, or I guess just when he felt like it. At the time I figured him to be a good hand reader, and if I remember correctly this was either my first or second time playing with him. I had also heard that he had a somewhat wild image and that he was capable of some unorthodox lines while still being in control of the hand.
So, in the hand in question the board read 633 with a flush draw. I had 77 with a diamond and was out of position against George fairly deep. Not an enviable position. I don't remember much of my exact line in this hand, but that may be a good thing because I know it was terrible. I was fairly new to uncapped games, and was prone to small bouts of FPS (fancy play syndrome) for whatever reason, and also had not grasped the problem of representing too thin a value range while bluffing yet. Everyone makes mistakes. I believe I check called flop. The turn was a 3 to make the board 6333, and George bet again. At this point I decided my hand was no good, but I formulated a plan to somehow make him fold some part of his range. Since I thought he was a good hand reader and took unorthodox lines, he might be able to see a strange line as value. So, I decided my plan was to make a smallish checkraise on the turn, then overbet river somewhere around 1.3x pot. I had a nitty image and I thought he'd see this weird line from a nit and talk himself into folding some hands that beat me. I warned you this line sucked, though I don't think the thought process is TOO terrible. So George comes along after some thought on the turn, and the river is a 5 completing the flush, which is fairly irrelevant. I take a little time and complete the plan, betting what I think was about 3575 into 2800. George goes into the tank for 2 minutes, and finally calls.
Now let's freeze time for a second. Put yourself in my shoes. What do you do right now, at this moment?
What I did at the time is what I expect many of you would do. I picked up my cards, gave the eyeroll, said “you got it, small full house,” and made little folding motions toward the muck ready to see George's winner. But remembering this hand got me thinking. Acting different at this moment could have had big implications down the line. I decided that when this situation happens again, I'll just turn my hand over and say nothing, and I'll tell you why.
I was new to this game, this casino and to this particular opponent. Because my ego was bruised by my play not working, I subtly made sure with my actions that everyone knew that I knew what I was doing and tipped off my general thought process that I was turning my hand into a bluff. But was ego really worth it? Let's look at the two theoretical choices:
1) Turn my hand over without a word, see George's winner, muck and say “nice hand.”
2) Save face and do the “my expert play didn't work” song and dance.
In example 1, the farther reaching consequences against thinking opponents could be huge. I planned on playing at this casino for many months more. George in particular has plenty of money and will have no problem making big calls or being sticky in pots in the future. The other players in the game that saw this pot are also smart and thinking to varying degrees of expertise. Since I'm fairly new, why make it obvious that I knew I was bluffing with a hand that had value? Simply turning the hand over without a word could imply to some that I was betting my hand for value, or at the very least plant the seed of doubt. Adding the dynamic in future hands that I may be bluffing OR accidentally value betting worse in common situations can blows people's calling ranges wide open, getting me plenty of action in future hands, which is great for me since I play a generally straightforward game with a few bluffs and weird lines thrown in. Even if people see through it to a degree, a smart player may narrow down my “value bet with worse” range to common overvaluing spots such as small flushes and small boats. By saying nothing, I almost always gain SOMETHING from future action that I lose by saving my ego a little. Sure option 2 still gets me a little more action since I've shown I'm capable of bluffing, but I believe the other route gets me much more action and makes me more of a wild card down the line.
Still with me? I realize this seems like a tiny thing to focus on, but getting extra value from things that others aren't thinking about always has value, and games are tough enough these days that any extra value is key.
Keep those gears turning.
Last edited by redsox105; 07-13-2012 at 09:25 PM.
