The pros talk about this concept of mixing up your play as a key to success. It's accomplished in a number of ways; playing tight followed by a loose call, keeping your opponents off balance, the size of your bets from hand to hand, etc.
Altering the size of my bets is how I capitalized on a 6 seat sit and go last night where I corralled first place against some tough competition.
I was dealt a pair of Jacks, under the gun, and first to act off the blinds. I put in a bet 3x the size of the big blind, got a couple of callers. The flop delivers rags. I'm holding the overpair and bet the pot. The others fold show and I advertise (or show my Jacks) and rake a nice pot.
Some people say, "Hey Chief, why advertise at all by showing your cards?" I'm a firm believer in selective advertising, because it potentially sets the opponents up for a bigger kill down the road.
So, the very next hand, I'm dealt pocket QQ. This time, I mix up my play and bet only the minimum raise or two bets. The dude who just got burned on the Jacks reraises me. He's probably thinking I have an Ace/weak kicker based on my action from the last hand.
Mixing up my play and selective advertising of my previous hand set this soul up for the kill. I reraise and put him All-in. Now, he's "pot committed" and calls revealing AJ off-suit. He does not improve and I keep my lead, rake a humongo pot and winning knock him out.
I go on to win the 6 seat event. I'm convinced that my mixed play kept my opponents off balance. I was down to 500 chips, was fortunate to get lucky and then mixed up my play. Even if your in a turbo event, there is still ample time to mix it up and keep your opponents confused.
May your Rockets Red Glare...
The Chief Disciple of Poker
No comments:
Post a Comment