Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 1 (54 page)

After I showed down 7-2o, players played back at me a bit more, so I toned down the aggression. Most table bullies don’t understand that once your opponents know you are a total maniac, you have to nit it up. Before I showed down 7-2o my opponents thought I was crazy, but after they saw the hand, they knew I was crazy, and they were a bit more willing to call me down with a weak hand. You should be fine as long as you are constantly aware of your table image and how your opponents will play against you.

Section 3

Playing Mid Stacked (125BB-40BB)

  Chapter 10

When you have Between 125 and 60BBs

You must adjust your play as stacks get shorter because implied odds begin to shrink. Drawing hands go down in value and you must be willing to stack off with hands like two pair unless the board gets very scary. You must play strong hands more aggressively before the flop. You should be happy getting a 75BB stack all-in with hands like A-K and Q-Q if your opponent is not too tight. You can still make tight folds against super-tight players, but your play should mostly be similar to when you have more than 125BBs. The following chapters will illustrate a few key concepts that differ from when you have a deeper stack.

Play Tighter As Stacks Get Shorter

As stacks get shorter, your implied odds diminish and bluffs become more costly. You should play a slightly tighter range of hands than when deeper-stacked. Rarely call re-raises out of position with speculative hands, as you will be getting poor implied odds. This does not mean you should stop stealing blinds. Keep up the aggression as long as the players to your left fold their blinds to your late-position raises.

While only slightly tightening your pre-flop raising range, you should raise to a slightly smaller amount. I usually raise to between 2.5 and 2.75BBs. It’s tough to call re-raises if you raise to a larger amount. Opponents will re-raise to an amount that pushes you off all but your best hands, forcing you to play fairly straightforwardly. When you re-raise, it should be to about 2.75 times your opponent’s raise.

Raise Players who Fold too Much

Some players simply fold too often. As your stack gets shorter, picking up dead money will constantly keep it growing. If a player folds his blinds often, even if he is halfway across the table, raise him whenever you have some semblance of a hand. You should still fold bad hands, as you are basically total bluffing pre-flop. It is much better to semi-bluff before the flop with J-7 than totally bluff with 7-2.

If a player raises often but folds to re-raises, feel free to re-raise him with any two cards. You should know your opponents well when making these re-raises. If they are actually tight, you should only re-raise with premium hands while in position.

Some players raise with a wide range, continuation-bet often and play straightforwardly after that. Be willing to call these players in position with a decently wide range, floating most flops that don’t hit their range. If they check to you on the turn, you have the green light to take down the pot with a bet. You can also raise the flop against them. A smaller than normal raise often works, as they will usually fold. Be quick to ditch your hand if they play back at you.

Most players have a spot in the hand where they give up when they miss. For some it is before the flop. Against them, raise their blinds. Re-raise often against players that give up after they raise pre-flop. Against players that raise, continuation-bet and then give up, take control of the pot by floating and betting the turn or making small raises on the flop.

Some wild players tend to only give up on a hand at the river. Play your normal game against them because you have to risk too many chips to just get to the river. You are much better off making a hand like top pair against them and calling down. Sometimes trying to make your opponent fold is not the best line to take.

Pay attention to the way your opponent plays all his hands, and realize that he may not play against you the same as he plays against the tight player on your left. Figure out what each player thinks of you and then determine how to win every pot where they fail to connect with the board.

Pot-Control Medium-Strength Hands

Pot-controlling with your medium strength hands becomes mandatory as your stack diminishes. You can ignore pot control from time to time for balancing purposes with a deep stack, but maximizing your chance of survival becomes important as you get shorter.

When you flop a hand like top pair, bad kicker, or an underpair to the highest card on the board, you are either way ahead or way behind. It is tough in this situation to get much money in throughout the hand as a big favorite. Suppose you raise K
-10
to 2.5BBs out of your 70BB stack from middle position and the small blind calls. The flop comes 10
-8
-2
.

Your opponent checks and you bet 4BBs. Your opponent calls. If the turn is anything besides a king or a 10, you should check against all but the most passive calling stations. Call any river bet, and value-bet if your opponent checks, unless the board came off with a combination of two overcards that don’t give you two pair. Playing the hand this way makes it tough to risk more than 20BBs, which is good because you are probably beat if much more than that goes into the pot.

Use your best judgment if your opponent raises you on the flop. Whatever you do, don’t act like you are weak because when you call his raise, you want to get to showdown as cheaply as possible. Tend to call against loose-aggressive players and fold to tighter players.

Sometimes it makes sense to pot-control with a draw, which will usually net you a free card and an opportunity to bluff the river if you miss. Suppose you raise 9
-8
to 2.5BBs out of your 80BB stack and both blinds call. The flop comes 10
-6
-2
. Both opponents check to you. This is a good spot to bet because if you’re called, you can happily check the turn, and if someone raises you on the flop, you can push on him.