Texas Holdem Tip #13 - Think Flexibly.
This Texas Holdem Tip deals a little bit with the psychology of the game. Sometimes a player will go “on tilt” after becoming frustrated. They may not have been getting any playable cards for several hands. Or perhaps they have just had what they feel is a “bad beat”. Once agitated, they begin to make bad poker decisions. Often after a bad beat, a player will try to win it all back in the very next hand!
The problem is that the player had decided what to do before seeing the cards or understanding the situation. It is important to be disciplined and have a solid poker system, but this must be adaptable to the situation.
I’ll give an example from my own poker playing. A couple of nights ago I was playing multiple tables online. I was very focused on playing premium hands so that I could manage multiple tables profitably. At one table, I noticed that most of the players were just calling the big blind so that they could see the flop. I changed tactics and began to bet aggressively IF I was the first one to raise. Doing this, I took 6 of the next 11 pots without showing a single card. In the last hand, three players decided that I must be bluffing and called. After the flop came down, I fired a pot sized bet and they all folded to my 2-7 offsuit. Knowing that they had caught on, I went back to playing premium hands. If I had decided to stick rigidly to the “rules”, I would have missed out on 6 pots!
Suppose I have a pair of nines in late position. Normally I would bet aggressively with this hand. But, facing a raise and reraise from solid players in front of me, I would fold without hesitation.
The point is this: you cannot pre-decide whether or not you will play a particular hand without seeing the cards and understanding the situation. Your texas holdem play must flexibly adapt to your situation. Thinking flexibly is NOT an excuse to play undisciplined poker. It IS about recognizing when altering your play can be very profitable.
(By the way, a player on tilt who tries to win it back in the next hand is often a good candidate to call with any decent cards. There is a good chance you will knock them out of the game.)
See you at the tables …
1 year ago • 0 notes