Tournament Poker is full of different sorts of players. The Tight and the Loose. The Aggressive and the Passive. The Fish, the Donkeys, the Tricksters and the Maniacs...the list goes on. I’ve become fairly adept at making adjustments in my own game to handle all these different types of players that I come across. However there is one guy that I am really struggling with. I call him The White Whale.
It’s not uncommon to get knocked out of a tournament by the same player a few times. I’ve had various challenges in the past that have tested me and I’ve figured out how to get past them. Early on I had trouble with an Aggressive player, then a Trickster caught me out a few times, but this one has me in a bit of a quandary.
The last Tournament I played he took me out TWICE in the one night and he did it in such a way that I must have sat there looking dumbfounded for a few seconds afterwards because it was such a surprise. I know he is very good at reading hands and his opponents and so I have been trying to disguise my hand and stonewall him when we’re in a hand together. Both times I thought I was setting up a big trap for him because he likes to Value Bet strongly on the River when he has a big hand and he get’s Pot Committed…
However, both times I thought I was springing the Big Trap with an All-In Shove and he’s Snap Called me with an ever-so-slightly better hand. All I had succeeded in doing was Trapping myself! So I am licking my wounds again and trying to figure out how I can beat this guy. For now all I have come up with is to avoid the big pots with this guy and be on the lookout for his strong Value Bet which is the only thing I’ve seen that looks even remotely like a Tell. There has to be a better way though. Any suggestions?
