Changing my style at no-limit hold'em
I have the playing bug back. I am playing an hour or two a day after my recent WSOP trip. And, I have been giving a lot of thought to how I approach the game because I came to an obvious and overwhelming epiphany while in Vegas for four days.
Epiphany: At least 90% of my opponents are idiots that might as well play their cards face up 90% of the time. No, really.
Rule for self: Stop assuming that your opponents are smart and tricky. Do not worry about your opponents "figuring out what you are doing" because they aren't even trying to figure it out.
Putting this epiphany together with "The Delta Factor" (found here Sgt. Rock) it became clear to me that I should find a basic strategy that is different from the majority and I should stick to it.
Playing mostly $1-2 short-handed NL I now minimum raise about 65% of hands. I make the continuation bet a high percentage of the time. If I re-raise I almost always make the minimum re-raise. I let pots mature to the turn.
My win rate is WAY higher than it has ever been (short sample I admit).
I will give more of my thoughts bit I wanted to open the discussion to "alternative approaches" as opposed to the "standard approach" and the benefits that derive from alternatives.
Epiphany: At least 90% of my opponents are idiots that might as well play their cards face up 90% of the time. No, really.
Rule for self: Stop assuming that your opponents are smart and tricky. Do not worry about your opponents "figuring out what you are doing" because they aren't even trying to figure it out.
Putting this epiphany together with "The Delta Factor" (found here Sgt. Rock) it became clear to me that I should find a basic strategy that is different from the majority and I should stick to it.
Playing mostly $1-2 short-handed NL I now minimum raise about 65% of hands. I make the continuation bet a high percentage of the time. If I re-raise I almost always make the minimum re-raise. I let pots mature to the turn.
My win rate is WAY higher than it has ever been (short sample I admit).
I will give more of my thoughts bit I wanted to open the discussion to "alternative approaches" as opposed to the "standard approach" and the benefits that derive from alternatives.
Comments
I think he's mainly referring to online games and applies only to a reraise and not the original raise.
It confuses people because it's not typical. Confused people make more mistakes.
It puts a little more in the pot so that a flop-steal wins more money.
Psychologically it counts as a raise. This has a couple of perks -- it helps define my hand and sets up a flop-steal when a board like A-9-7 comes.
The basic thing is that most people apply the wrong counter strategy. They think to themselves, "That SOB is raising all the time. I am going to get a good hand and kill him in a BIG pot." This is EXACTLY what you should not do against the style I am employing.
I think like that sometimes.... how would you counter it then?