Since my last Poker post about Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses just 12 days ago I've managed to crack the big local tournament that I was struggling with - coming 2nd and 3rd in my last 2 attempts. All of a sudden The Road to Vegas feels like it might be a bit shorter though at this rate it'll still probably take me until 2027 to get there. That said, there is an aspect of my game that I think I've made a breakthrough with and that's adjusting my strategy on the fly when I can identify my competitors playing style.
Experienced poker players will probably roll their eyes at the obviousness of that last comment. I knew I had to do it too, but I wasn't quite sure HOW or WHEN to do it and I wasn't altogether comfortable playing different styles that I didn't have a good handle on. This is what I'm getting better at now. So I've jotted down a few notes about the types of players I am typically facing. Often a player could be 2 of the below types, but it's a bit of a cheat-sheet for me to try some adjustments that will help. Here are my current top 7 opponents (in no particular order) :-
1. Passive
How to Spot Them : They are limping in with AA or KK and Checking with strong made hands or betting very light with the Nuts.
How to Beat Them : Exercise Pot Control (Don’t Raise) and play out your Draws because they will let you make good hands on late streets.
2. Fish
How to Spot Them : They are Chasing Draws and calling with hands like bottom pair or staying in pots with super WET boards.
How to Beat Them : Quad Barrel them with oversized bets pre-Flop, post-Flop, Turn and River when you have a strong hand. Extract maximum Value.
3. Loose
How to Spot Them : They play a very wide Range of starting hands and often stab at the Pot with questionable hands to try and steal it.
How to Beat Them : Play a tighter Range and Call them down or re-Raise when they stab. Even with middle pair or other weaker hands.
4. Aggro
How to Spot Them : Oversized Bets and putting other players in uncomfortable positions with their aggression even when Deep Stacked.
How to Beat Them : Set Traps. Play Tight, disguise your hand strength and fold to aggression until you have the Nuts and then take their whole stack.
5. Tight
How to Spot Them : They don’t play a lot of hands and when they get to Showdown they are usually super strong and often have the Nuts.
How to Beat Them : Deny them Value by folding to Raises and especially on the River. Semi-Bluff and Bluff to pressure them out of most pots.
6. Analytical
How to Spot Them : They talk Pot Odds and Value. They are counting chips in the Pot. Bet sizing is proportional to their hand strength and Equity.
How to Beat Them : Use good Hand Reading skills to make big bets that will cause bad odds for them to Call you down.
7. Exploitative
How to Spot Them : They are watching players for Tells and Signals and trying to spot weaknesses. They talk a lot and ask about Mucked Cards.
How to Beat Them : Play Game Theory Optimal strategy and don’t show any weakness or give any information away. Be aware of your table image.
I put myself into the categories of Tight and Aggressive when I started out but I am getting better at adapting and am becoming more of an Exploitative player. One of my issues at the big tournament I was failing at is there are a lot of Passive players who were surprising me with big hidden hands. Loose players were Bullying me out of too many Pots and Aggro players were making me pay a big price for chasing Draws.
I'm certainly no expert now, but at least I've figured out how I was being exploited....so now I know what I need to do to turn the tables.