Post by jdaddy on Apr 10, 2008 17:38:52 GMT -4
www.pokerlistings.com
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Calling Versus Raising
By Sean Lind
Poker is a dynamic game, and winning players always need to adjust. The more the masses see players win with a certain style, the more they'll try and copy it.
A few years ago poker was generally a very tight-passive game. Now, with so many players taking notes from the top players, general aggression has gone up substantially.
Three years ago three-betting light online was almost unheard of. Now it's common to find people four-betting light at lower-limit games.
So an accepted winning strategy just a few years ago may no longer be as useful as it once was. A good example:
The maxim explained in this article from a couple of years ago, "The fish call, the sharks raise," is no longer a wholly accurate assessment.
The majority of players will adjust their game to align with that of the top winners. As more and more players change their style of play to ape the elite, the winners will move on to a new strategy - or a new game altogether - to stay one step ahead.
Calling Shows Weakness
This was, and still is, mostly true. Unlike when the article above was written, though, showing weakness is not a bad thing in the face of aggression.
For a straightforward example, if you're holding the absolute nuts it can be more profitable to let players try to aggro you out of the pot, rather than alert them you have the hand.
The majority of poker players possess an average skill level at best. Many of these players will be trying to play the aggression game of the elite, but they lack some of the finely tuned skills and talent of the ones they imitate.
These players are quick to put you on a draw - any draw - and willing to fire three barrels on their "read" hoping to make you lay down.
You are showing them weakness to entice more frequent and larger bets than they'd make if they had their guard up. You want players with two rags putting large money up against you, and there are many of them willing to do it.
If you're putting money in the pot, make sure it's done with a game plan.
Calling Shows Strength
When playing against a very skilled player, calling can set off more alarms than raising or betting. A very good player who gives you credit for being the same will understand the state of poker, and the standard aggression levels.
They will assume you'll be protecting your vulnerable hands, and trying to take control of pots to force out players unwilling to contest you. They will also assume - correctly - that you understand pot odds and implied odds and are playing accordingly.
With this view of you in mind, calling their large bets will be very suspect. If you're heads-up, they cannot put you on having a draw by making a call. In fact, it would make more sense for you to be betting on the come with a draw, replacing your lack of pot odds with fold equity.
When you call them, they now have to think you have a hand big enough that you don't need 3-1 pot odds, and that you also don't need to protect your hand. If you have the image of being very strong and aggressive, without anything to indicate you're a calling station, cold-calling real bets will be a warning sign to other good players.
The Raiser Controls the Hand
This is, and always will be, true. The aggressor always controls the hand in play. Along with control of the hand comes a feeling of security. If you have the nuts, you want the other person to be in control, comfortable and worry free.
At the same time, without the nuts, you almost always want to be in control of the hand. He who controls the hand gains the most equity. Against all tight players, you want to be in control, raising away at them. If they're only willing to play strong hands you should be raising every chance you get.
From a tight player's point of view, the vast majority of hands you can be dealt are not strong hands. You should be exploiting their unwillingness to play anything less than the nuts.
Pot Control
On the other hand, if you're up against a very loose player who likes to see rivers, pot control is more important than being the aggressor. If the player is not going to fold, you can't gain fold equity by raising.
By raising, you will have increased the total size of the pot. The larger and more attractive the pot, the less likely your loose opponent will want to fold.
In a situation where you aren't very sure that you're ahead, it's better to manage pot size and keep your variance low. Most of the time, the most useful way to control pot size is by simply calling, or check-calling.
At the hands of decent players, the size of a pot will increase exponentially. The more money in the pot, the larger-sized bets the players will make, causing each subsequent bet to increase in conjunction with the total pot size.
The exponential increasing of the pot tells us the most important times to be using pot control are pre-flop and on the flop. My standard rule of thumb is this:
When you have the most hand equity, you want large pots.
When your equity is less than that of your opponents, you want small pots.
If you're waiting on Phil to make a mistake, you're probably going to go broke.
The Big River Mistake
If you think an opponent is making a bluff on the river, raising is a horrifically bad play. Your read the whole hand was that the other player was on a flush draw. The river comes, and the flush draw has missed. For the first time in the hand, they open the betting round rather than checking.
In this situation, raising is an obvious mistake. If your read is correct, the other player has nothing and will fold. If your read is incorrect and they actually have you beat, they will come back over the top to three-bet or push on you.
You gain nothing with this raise, whereas you would benefit in the long run from simply calling here.
Loose Ends
This advice works for all versions of poker: online, live, cash and tourney. But it's most relevant for live cash games. The majority of the time in most tourneys you will be forced to play a raise or fold game - other players' stacks won't be large enough for you to take a more long-ball approach.
Online poker is much more aggressive on the whole, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't return fire in kind. But there are times, as I previously stated, where calling is a better play than raising, even in online poker.
You can't really play golf with only a driver in your bag. Aggression is an important tool, but it needs to be used along with the other plays in your arsenal.
Sometimes maximizing your profits involves slowing your game down. There's always a brake right next to the gas pedal; I recommend using them both.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Calling Versus Raising
By Sean Lind
Poker is a dynamic game, and winning players always need to adjust. The more the masses see players win with a certain style, the more they'll try and copy it.
A few years ago poker was generally a very tight-passive game. Now, with so many players taking notes from the top players, general aggression has gone up substantially.
Three years ago three-betting light online was almost unheard of. Now it's common to find people four-betting light at lower-limit games.
So an accepted winning strategy just a few years ago may no longer be as useful as it once was. A good example:
The maxim explained in this article from a couple of years ago, "The fish call, the sharks raise," is no longer a wholly accurate assessment.
The majority of players will adjust their game to align with that of the top winners. As more and more players change their style of play to ape the elite, the winners will move on to a new strategy - or a new game altogether - to stay one step ahead.
Calling Shows Weakness
This was, and still is, mostly true. Unlike when the article above was written, though, showing weakness is not a bad thing in the face of aggression.
For a straightforward example, if you're holding the absolute nuts it can be more profitable to let players try to aggro you out of the pot, rather than alert them you have the hand.
The majority of poker players possess an average skill level at best. Many of these players will be trying to play the aggression game of the elite, but they lack some of the finely tuned skills and talent of the ones they imitate.
These players are quick to put you on a draw - any draw - and willing to fire three barrels on their "read" hoping to make you lay down.
You are showing them weakness to entice more frequent and larger bets than they'd make if they had their guard up. You want players with two rags putting large money up against you, and there are many of them willing to do it.
If you're putting money in the pot, make sure it's done with a game plan.
Calling Shows Strength
When playing against a very skilled player, calling can set off more alarms than raising or betting. A very good player who gives you credit for being the same will understand the state of poker, and the standard aggression levels.
They will assume you'll be protecting your vulnerable hands, and trying to take control of pots to force out players unwilling to contest you. They will also assume - correctly - that you understand pot odds and implied odds and are playing accordingly.
With this view of you in mind, calling their large bets will be very suspect. If you're heads-up, they cannot put you on having a draw by making a call. In fact, it would make more sense for you to be betting on the come with a draw, replacing your lack of pot odds with fold equity.
When you call them, they now have to think you have a hand big enough that you don't need 3-1 pot odds, and that you also don't need to protect your hand. If you have the image of being very strong and aggressive, without anything to indicate you're a calling station, cold-calling real bets will be a warning sign to other good players.
The Raiser Controls the Hand
This is, and always will be, true. The aggressor always controls the hand in play. Along with control of the hand comes a feeling of security. If you have the nuts, you want the other person to be in control, comfortable and worry free.
At the same time, without the nuts, you almost always want to be in control of the hand. He who controls the hand gains the most equity. Against all tight players, you want to be in control, raising away at them. If they're only willing to play strong hands you should be raising every chance you get.
From a tight player's point of view, the vast majority of hands you can be dealt are not strong hands. You should be exploiting their unwillingness to play anything less than the nuts.
Pot Control
On the other hand, if you're up against a very loose player who likes to see rivers, pot control is more important than being the aggressor. If the player is not going to fold, you can't gain fold equity by raising.
By raising, you will have increased the total size of the pot. The larger and more attractive the pot, the less likely your loose opponent will want to fold.
In a situation where you aren't very sure that you're ahead, it's better to manage pot size and keep your variance low. Most of the time, the most useful way to control pot size is by simply calling, or check-calling.
At the hands of decent players, the size of a pot will increase exponentially. The more money in the pot, the larger-sized bets the players will make, causing each subsequent bet to increase in conjunction with the total pot size.
The exponential increasing of the pot tells us the most important times to be using pot control are pre-flop and on the flop. My standard rule of thumb is this:
When you have the most hand equity, you want large pots.
When your equity is less than that of your opponents, you want small pots.
If you're waiting on Phil to make a mistake, you're probably going to go broke.
The Big River Mistake
If you think an opponent is making a bluff on the river, raising is a horrifically bad play. Your read the whole hand was that the other player was on a flush draw. The river comes, and the flush draw has missed. For the first time in the hand, they open the betting round rather than checking.
In this situation, raising is an obvious mistake. If your read is correct, the other player has nothing and will fold. If your read is incorrect and they actually have you beat, they will come back over the top to three-bet or push on you.
You gain nothing with this raise, whereas you would benefit in the long run from simply calling here.
Loose Ends
This advice works for all versions of poker: online, live, cash and tourney. But it's most relevant for live cash games. The majority of the time in most tourneys you will be forced to play a raise or fold game - other players' stacks won't be large enough for you to take a more long-ball approach.
Online poker is much more aggressive on the whole, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't return fire in kind. But there are times, as I previously stated, where calling is a better play than raising, even in online poker.
You can't really play golf with only a driver in your bag. Aggression is an important tool, but it needs to be used along with the other plays in your arsenal.
Sometimes maximizing your profits involves slowing your game down. There's always a brake right next to the gas pedal; I recommend using them both.