Adjusting Your Strategy in a Solid Game
Playing in a game where everybody is a good player can be a lot of fun. You might not be the best player in the bunch, but you can still come out a winner. Deception and manipulation can be used with a high degree of success. Good players can see when inconsistencies arise and will lay down a good hand when they feel that they are being trapped. I had the pleasure of playing in one of the toughest games I have ever played in at Foxwoods when I had this hand:
Game: 2/5 NL Cash Game
Stack: $400
Scenario: Extremely tough table table. I am in seat #3. The guy to my immediate right (seat #2) won a seat into the Foxwoods Poker Classic Main Event ($10,000). By observing him, he is a solid player. He knows the game. I am unsure of how advanced he is in terms of psychology. There is another person two seats to my left who is a very tight solid player as well. There are no real weak links at the table - which is unusual. There are usually 3-4 semi-clueless people in any 2/5 NL table. I would classify everybody at least as advanced, with a few experts. Knowing that everybody is on this level forces, you to play differently than at a wild loosey-goosey table where most people think they are better then they actually are. This kind of table is fun.
Button is in seat #8.
Seat 1 / UTG: Fold
Seat 2: Raise to 25
I peek down at
Normally, a raise is in order. If I simply make a call, I am inviting people after me to call. They would be getting at least 2:1 on their money. However, the table is overwhelmingly solid. Knowing a raise came from an Early Position should deter the limp-fest that normally occurs in weak games. I need to play with deception at this table - it will be noticed. Ideally, I would like everybody to fold so I will be heads-up against the original raiser. I elect to make a semi-risky smooth call.
Seat 4: Fold
Seat 5 (another Mr. Solid): Call
Seat 6: fold
Seat 7: Call
Seat 8: Fold
SB: Fold
BB: Fold
Pot: $107
This is not exactly the result I wanted. There are four people are in the pot. The rockets are vulnerable, and I need to proceed on yellow alert.
Flop:
Seat 2 leads out for $100 - a pot-sized bet. I have $375 left in my stack.
A raise is order. I need to fear a hand like KJ or J9s – both of which are possible. Judging by Seat 2’s pot-sized bet, he is afraid of the same thing. His most likely holdings are KK, QQ, AQ, or KQs. QT and 33 would not be in the pot from an early position.
You could make a case either way for him, having TT.
If he has trips, would he want to check-raise? The answer is “doubtful”, because he risks a check around the table. This is a high possibility since he showed the preflop aggression. A free-card would be extremely dangerous for him.
Because of the size of the bet, I must put him on some type of hand, not a draw. If he had a draw, then I would have expected a continuation-sized type of a bet.
I am also worried about the other two people behind me. If I call here, they have the odds to draw at anything. A raise is the only play. The question becomes how much do I raise? The standard raise is 3 times the last bet. If I raise to $300, then I leave myself with only $75. Seat #2 will know this and see I am pot-committed and may fold. A good player recognizes when the bet of player will commit them to the pot. If he sees this, then he can safely assume that I am going to put in my remaining $75. He can then factor that into his decision of whether to play the hand or not. Seat 2 is capable of this analysis.
The problem is if I min-raise to $200, then the stacks behind me might be tempted to play if they have a drawing hand. This is a situation where my stack size is a hindrance to my betting. The choices I have left are raise to say maybe $250 or push all-in. The raise to $300 and the all-in push are equivalent because of the logic above. If seat #2 has AQ, I certainly want a call. If he flopped trips, then I just got unlucky. If I bet $250, it still leaves me with some chips, and essentially pot-commits me, but to a lesser degree.
Action: I decide to raise to $250.
Seat 5 folds
Seat 7 agonizes. He moans that he wants to call. He looks at me and says “for $100 I would have called”. This leads me to believe that he has that draw that I was fearful of (KJ or J9s). He reluctantly folds.
Seat 2: Thinks for a minute then pushes all-in.
Comments: This was a good result for me. I am pretty sure that I have Seat #2 beat. I do an insta-call.
Seat 2 asks if I have a set. I say no- do you?. He says, no, a pair of Queens, and he flips over AQ. Perfect! I show AA. He is surprised and says, “I never put you on AA because you did not raise pre-flop.” I told him that I did not raise preflop because I did not want to give my hand away.
He smiled and said, “Well played.”
The turn is a 2 and the river is an 8. After the river, Seat 7 says that he indeed did have J9s and would have rivered a straight. Knowing how much to bet and when to bet it is an integral part of No Limit Holdem Strategy!