How to beat 1-2 NL games(Alex, Gary, Alec Blog comments)

The last blog I wrote received a lot of interesting feedback, it also provided me some insight into what some of my opponents are thinking about at the table. After reading many of these comments I wanted to reply but felt like a blog response would allow me to elaborate in better detail. I think everyone’s comments were insightful and I am sure that every player believes that their line of thinking is the most productive. However want to play Devil's Advocate to see if we can look from a different P.O.V
　

Just the facts please - The definition of opinion is (wikipedia) - a belief about matters commonly considered to be subjective, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts.
 The definition of fact is  (wikipedia)- something that has really occurred or is actually the case. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability, that is whether it can be proven

I like to make sure I put up these definitions because many times people get these two confused. A good example of this is when people say that “bluffing a weak player won’t work” or as Gary put it “is like trying to train a coyote to be a dog” Bluffing like many things that go on at the table is situational. Some games it’s profitable to bluff some games it’s not. Some spots you may need to bluff in some spots waiving the white flag is the correct play. Bluffing like many other things in the game is also relative and based on perception. How many times has a guys shown you his hand after you have folded thinking he bluffed you when in actuality he was bluffing with the best? In my opinion the belief that bad players can’t be bluffed is incorrect but I will talk about that in another blog. Another opinion stated as fact that I read was “your image means nothing to bad players“. How do we prove that? I’m sure that everyone has a story about the fish in the game who got lucky on them and then donked off all their chips. But does that really prove that your image means nothing? Or is it simply a matter of looking at only the results of a small sample size. One could argue that winning players craft their image at the table so thoroughly that it is almost impossible for the other players at the table not to recognize. In this day in age with all the public information about poker isn’t it unreasonable to believe that a good majority of your opponents are trying to get some sort of read on you. In fact if you asked most poker players what their strongest ability was I bet they would mention their reading ability. (I smell a poll question). How can you have a accurate read on a player without having a image for them? The point being that many times opinions are stated as fact, when reality they are not. This can be a determent not only to our psyche but also our bankroll.

All players are not created equally - In the comments to my last blog their were two hand history re-caps, in both the hero’s took what they would call a bad beat and while I agree %100 with the bad beat portion, I think that there are other aspects that both Alex and Gary are ignoring. It’s not their fault however. Poker players by nature of the game tend to be a more narcissistic group then most. The game is an individual sport, in fact one of the most common expression is “No friends at the poker table” Because of this I think many times we fail to look at the other guy’s P.O.V. For instance in Alex’s comments he mentions his opponents reasoning behind making the call was. His opponent believed he had two over’s and a straight draw for the win. My first impression upon hearing this is that …… I could understand how he could think that. In fact Alex did a good job of letting him think that with his line of betting. The way the hand was played I would expect you to turn over AK suited more than A-6 It wasn’t really unreasonable for him to think what he thought he just happened to be wrong. We have all been wrong on our reads before. I think it’s important to remember that when you sit down at the poker table many of your opponents are going through the same emotions as you. Despite what you believe or what they say no one enjoys loosing. Your opponents our not sitting down at the table to try to give you an edge, in fact they are deciphering ways to out maneuver and manipulate you just as your are them. In Alex’s hand he got unlucky, but I don’t think we can always dismiss our opponents line of thinking as nonsense simply because they outdraw us.

What’s the 411? - In Alex’s story he forgot to let us know the stack size of our opponent. Information like this is crucial in NL poker how can I judge someone’s decision when I don’t know the stakes? Time and time again I will hear players Bitch about a bad beat that they took and they will leave out the fact that Mathematically the guy would be a fool not to call. Have you ever heard a tournament player talking about getting busted from a tournament?

Player 1 “ I had AK guy called me with 10-5 off and spiked".

Player 2 “How deep were you?”

Player 1 “Uh I don’t know I had about 5k”

Player 2 “ What were the blinds?“

Player 1 “ 2000 -4000 with a $100 ante".

Poker is a situational game and certain situations call for certain decisions without knowing the specifics of a situation how can we accurately critique? Now in fairness to Alex he does explain that he’s all - in, but I still would like to know the size of his opponents stack.

The final thing that I would like to touch on in regards to the comments on the last blog is this notion that the way to win at 1-2 NL is to sit back and wait for only AA and KK and then get max value. It is my belief that the game of poker is constantly evolving and to me the tight is right strategy has gone the way the dodo bird. First off it’s hard enough to pick up enough premium hands per session to play. I have gone sometimes weeks without seeing JJ or better as starting cards, if my strategy is to wait for these hands, what do I do now? I used to be a student of the tight is right school. I once thought that the best way to win at poker is to sit and wait and only play your top tier starting hands. Much of this is because my background is in Stud and Limit poker. In Limit poker especially this can be a very profitable strategy as many of the pots will be bloated from all the pre-flop action. However NL is different, there are going to be so many times that your opponents are going to simply fold to you not only because they themselves don’t have playable starting cards but also because of the ultra tight image you have created for yourself. It is my hypothesis that to consistently beat any NL hold em games a player must have the ability to play a loose aggressive style which incorporates skills like, bluffing, pot building and Over -betting. In Low limit Vegas hold em games these skill become even more important as many of your opponents as we see will be incorporating a tight aggressive style. In my humble opinion you ability to exploit that style is a major key in building your bankroll and booking winning sessions

 

Bruce Williams is a Las Vegas poker pro who is know around the city as Ak...No Good. 



How to beat 1-2 NL games (Playing against bad players Part II)

This Blog is in response to a hand history conversation I recently had. Playing 1-2 NL @ Harrah's I limp into a multi - way pot from the cut -off with K5 off. 7 players see the flop of K-5-6 rainbow It's checked to me I bet $14 get 1 called by the SB. I have about $400 left and he has about $150. The turn is a 7 It's checked I bet $42 and get called. The river is an 8 and the SB bets $27. What do you do in that spot? Well a player asked me why I called with K-5. That’s a very good question and the answer is just as good. For Value. I’m sure your shaking your head right now but the fact of the matter is almost any two cards that you can see for the minimum in position in a multi - way pot is for value in the long run. That assuming your better than you opponents. Let’s break down some of the reasons

1. The price is right - In the k-5 hand there were about 4 limpers in front of me, so it only cost me $2 to try to win a pot of $11. Not to mention I have position on everyone else if the button doesn’t call.

2. Play your position - Many players in these Vegas low limit games are going to play their hands pretty straight forward. They will be checking weak hands and betting strong hands. You should have a pretty good indication of the strength of your opponents hand after the flop. In fact, if you’re having a hard time reading your opponents your in the wrong game. There are several flops that are going to completely miss your opponents or be two weak for them to continue on, because you have position you should be able to ascertain the information needed to make the most profitable plays over the long run.

3. No shame in folding - The easy rebuttal to this Loose aggressive style is: What if you get raised? However that’s an easy answer, fold. There is no shame in Limp folding in these games in fact your ideal goal when in position is to get in for the minimum, then profitably out play your opponent. You will have to sometimes call these raises or even 3bet in some spots just to keep you opponents off balance.

4. Pre flop Champions - Poker is not new to the mainstream anymore. Even the most novice player has some understanding of the game. They have been told by the W.S.O.P and WPT broadcast that aggression is the key. The problem for many of them is that this aggression is limited to the flop and usually limited to one raise. Pre flop everyone is a champion. If you pick up Kings or Aces all you have to do is raise and don’t back down. If you pick up JJ or QQ raise and just call a re-raise. All the other hands are pretty much calling hands including AK (which in my opinion is the most misplayed hand). After the flop however many players are lost. It is there where you can take full advantage of them. Their either checking big hands or over betting marginal ones, calling with two many draws or not bluff into weakness. This mistakes add up and over time as long as your opponent isn’t running like God you should be able to win.

5. Luck be a Lady tonight - You know? There is the chance that you could get lucky, I mean it is allowed to happen right? Every now and then your going to cooler AK in this spot or just flop the nuts. I know it might not be the best reason to make a call but you have to factor that in.

It’s important to remember that these tips are for when you are playing low limit cash games in Vegas. If your sitting in a game with 8 other guys that are professional grinders my first suggestion to you would be to find another game. If you don’t have a choice then you are going to have to tweak your style. For these games however playing loose aggressive is the way the go. If all is going right you should be able to take down a few pots bluffing, show them the best hand every now and then and every once in a while cooler the shit out of somebody. Add that in with the times you will win with strong starting hands and you can see how your profit starts to add up.