The calling station likes to play along, and follow with everyone else. He does not want to disturb the game and perturb any of his fellow comrades by unnecessarily raising. When the calling station bets, you know he thinks he has a good hand. When the calling station raises, you better run for your life, because he has a monster. The calling station will play many hands, has no problem limping in while in early position, calling a professional player’s early position raise, or calling a bet when he has a pair of 8′s when there are three overcards on the board. Beware, the calling station could be unintentionally trying to rope-a-dope you. If you play too aggressively into him without a made hand, he will simply call you down with a middle pair or a bottom pair. You do not want to bluff the calling station because he thinks it is a social game like the one in his hometown where everyone plays just about every hand to the River. He is our friend and as our friend, he will not get scared by your actions, he thinks you are his friend as well. A calling station is always a bad player.
The calling station
by admin ·
The average player
by admin ·
The average player does not do anything too extreme, he likes to play, but he is not overly aggressive with his hand nor does he play too passively. He will bet when he has a good hand, he will raise when he has a great hand, he will call when he has a passable hand, and he will fold when he has a poor hand. The average player will give himself excuses to stay in the hand rather than fold. The average player in any particular limit is different form the average player in another limit. For example, the average player of the $20-$40 games is a different player than the average player of $5-$10 games. In general, the average player of the $20-$40 game is a better player, he plays tighter, is more aggressive when he should be and has a few tricks up his sleeve. Although the average player of the $20-$40 games will still play too many hands, he will play fewer hands than the average player of the $5-$10 games. The average player in $5-$10 games does not do anything
overtly stupid like call two raises with 96o, but he plays even more hands than the average player in $20-$40 games. The average player will put in a bluff now and then but not all that often. When he raises, you can usually count on him having a premium hand.
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PREDICTABLE PLAYERS
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Predictable players are easier to play against than unpredictable players. When predictable players act, the strength of their hand will typically be clear based on their actions. It may be that when they bet or raise, they have a strong hand. It may be that when they have a strong hand, they never raise on the Flop but always wait to raise on the Turn when the bet size doubles. Conversely, it may be that when they raise on the Flop they never have a made hand but are raising for a free card.
A good, sharp player has a better idea of the strength of predictable players’ hands based on their
actions, although a poor player may not pick up on it. Different players will be predictable in
different ways. Here are some of these stereotypes.
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Hold’em Brain: Players
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Knowing how the other players play is one of the keys to achieving success at Limit Hold’em. When sharp players know their opponents well, sharp players will know how their opponents act and think. Sharp players will be able to take advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses and avoid their strengths. In order to understand how players play, sharp players will observe their opponents carefully. They will pay attention to their opponents’ play, how often their opponents bet, call or raise in different situations. Pegging opponents with stereotypes is useful as a first pass, however, most players will show a combination of different type of stereotypes and their own particular quirks. So it is more useful to observe each player individually. It is rare to find a poker player in real life who fits into any one of these character molds perfectly. What I will show here is a spectrum of the types of characters at the poker table. The style of players will usually fall close to one of these stereotypes or mixes of two stereotypes. It is a matter of identifying what type of characteristics and personalities they have. Also keep in mind that is it possible for a player to play like one character but slowly morph into another character as the player plays longer. It may be that the player’s personality has changed due to his mood, either because he is winning and having a good time, or he is losing and feeling frustrated. Or it could also be that you simply pegged the player incorrectly. Maybe his personality is closer to a different stereotype, and his play was more just a reflection of getting very good cards or very bad cards for a short period of time. After all, even the tightest, most conservative players would be raising every hand if they kept getting high pocket pairs. It could also be that the player tries to play solidly when he is first seated at the table, but reverts to his typical style after awhile. If you are a sociable player, it may be advantageous to engage in conversations with the players next to you so you can expedite your learning process of their personality and characteristics. Often appearance alone may get you part of the way, but appearances can be deceiving at times. Drawing a player into discussion about his life, his work and a bit about the hands he has played may help you get to know him a lot quicker and speed up your own education. Understanding how your opponents play is more useful when pots quickly become heads-up as opposed to being multi-way pots. This means it is more useful in shorthanded games and less useful in low limit games. In shorthanded games, pots will become heads-up on the Flop more often than in full games because there are fewer players who have to fold to make it heads-up. In low limit games, players will play looser in general, so more players will be seeing the Flop and beyond. When the opponents play looser, the tighter players can correctly expand their playable hands with good drawing type of hands. So the looseness in low limit games compounds upon itself. With many players, it becomes tougher to use any one player’s tendencies to your advantage, since there are other players in the hand to consider as well. With that said, any player who knows how his opponents play will always be better off than a player who does not.
I will break down player stereotypes into two major categories, predictable players and unpredictable players. Both categories have their share of bad players and good players. Players can be predictable whether they play loose or tight, but generally predictable players are passive. Players can be unpredictable whether they play loose or tight, although generally the unpredictable players are more on the aggressive side. Sometimes certain players may become extremely predictable in certain situations when they are not normally.
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CHANGING GEARS
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If you plan on becoming a great poker player, it’s important that you CHANGE GEARS… Changing gears prevents your style of play from becoming PREDICTABLE… and we all know that predictability is your enemy.
One minute you should be cruising along in first gear… folding and watching everyone else play. And then the next minute you should kick into fifth gear and bring your game to a different level.
Let me give you some examples.
It’s 8 P.M. and you sit down at your local cash game… and the very first hand you look at is a 9-8 of spades while you’re just to the right of the button.
A few players limp-in and the action is to you.
“Make it $25 to play,” is what you say… throwing out five red chips.
You decided that you’re going to start this game in FIFTH gear… which is your aggressive gear. You do this because you want to SET THE TONE of the game and establish your table presence. This will also set you up for action later in the game when you get some real hands… like Cowboys or American Airlines.
Then… once the table gets used to your fifth gear, you shift all the way back down to first and only play premium hands. And you’ll get ACTION.
So anyway… you continue your aggressive play for the first hour or so of the game. You make raises with a wide variety of hands like J-10, 10-9, 5-3, and so on. And your opponents have NO CLUE as to what you’re making raises with.
They’re confused as hell, which puts you in a DOMINATING position. They see you as an aggressive, manic-like player who continues to push the action. And you’ve also established yourself as table leader… even though you aren’t necessarily CHIP leader.
So you began the night with $200 in chips and now it’s 9 P.M. You’ve played for an hour and now you’ve got $180 in chips. Do you care? No!
That one hour was for the purpose of “paying your dues”… because you’ve set yourself up for the rest of the night. Now you’re going to get paid off when you finally DO catch a real hand. Now it’s just a matter of being patient.
So you decide to shift gears again… and drop into third gear. You’ll still make the occasional raise with 9-8 suited, and you’ll still bluff from time to time. But ONLY when you sense weakness and have good positioning.
What you’re really doing is waiting on that big hand like Queens, Kings, or Aces. When that happens, you get paid.
Finally, at 9:45 P.M. you get dealt Cowboys when you’re third to act before the flop. You decide to make a large pre-flop raise that’s likely to create heads-up action. After all, you don’t want four guys seeing a flop when you’ve got Kings… you’re practically guaranteed to get run down.
You throw out a raise… say $50. This is an aggressive raise at this table… but you’ve established yourself as an aggressive player. Hey, last time you made it $50 to play you were holding 10-8 suited! (Of course, that was a different story… because you were on the button and you sensed weakness when everyone limped-in last time. You KNEW everyone was going to fold last time… and that’s why you SHOWED your cards too. It
was all about setting up for THIS hand.)
So anyway… Brad, the guy on the button, is the only one who calls. And to make a long story short, you end up doubling up on poor little Brad, who had AQ.
So anyway… now it’s 10 P.M. and you decide to shift down to first gear. This is your TIGHT PLAYER gear. You’ve got $475 in chips and you just want to chill out and only play premium hands.
And once again, you’ll get paid off if you’re lucky enough to catch another big hand while playing in first gear. Because remember… your OPPONENTS don’t know you’re in first gear. For all they know you’re still in fifth.
Personally, I usually use first gear as a time to regroup and think about my game plan. I spend this time attentively studying my opponents for tells and betting patterns. So an hour goes by and you’ve basically been unheard from. Your opponents have practically forgotten you’re even sitting at the table!
It’s time to let your opponents that you’re still in the game… still ready to play. Josh and Rodney both limp-in and the action is to you.
“Make it $30 to play”, you say… not really caring if your opponents call or fold. If they call, you’ve got positioning on them. If they fold you can rake in the blinds… which add up over the course of the night.
Josh folds, Rodney folds. They haven’t heard from you in awhile and are therefore a little scared that you might be sitting on a big hand.
As you rake in the blinds, you throw over your 5-3 face up on the table and say, “Hey c’mon guys… give me some action here… I know you’ve got my five high beat!” And they both smile and shake their heads. They know you’re just messing with them… and they’re used to it by now. They’ve seen this behavior before.
So you’re back in fifth gear and you start playing aggressively again. You push the action for the next hour or so and hope to catch some favorable flops. If and when that happens, your chip lead increases.
The night rolls along and you continue to switch gears… from first to fifth, third to first, fifth to first, and so on. This style of play keeps your opponents on their toes and continually guessing… never quite able to put you on a hand.
This is what strong poker playing is all about. You’ve got to harness your ability to completely change gears… back and forth and back and forth throughout the night. If you stay in one gear for too long you’ll never win on a consistent basis.
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Betting
by admin ·
Great poker players understand the importance of MIXING UP THEIR BETS AND RAISES.
It’s so simple… yet so many players fail on this critical point. As you’ve heard me talk about, one of the keys to winning is to identify the betting patterns of your opponents. Of course, your opponents (the smart ones) will often try to identify YOUR betting patterns… So don’t let them!
Be sure to CONSTANTLY mix up your bets, raises, and even BETTING BEHAVIOR for different starting hands.
Don’t play the same starting hand the same way twice. Always change it up. This actually will give you LEVERAGE to “trick” your opponents also. For example… let’s say you raise $65 pre-flop with 7-2 offsuit after sensing weakness at the table. Everyone folds. You flip over your cards and jokingly say, “C’mon guys!”.
Another hour passes and you pick up pocket Kings on the button. You make a raise of $65 pre-flop. One of your opponents has K-J and REMEMBERS that you made the same pre-flop raise on a TOTAL BLUFF last time.
So he decides to come over the top of you for an all-in bet. And you promptly take all his money.
These types of situations won’t happen too often, of course, but when they do they are VERY SWEET!
If you find yourself totally unable to get out of the habit of betting patterns, try this sneaky little trick:
Let’s say everyone starts with 1000 in chips. The normal bets and raises are in multiples of five or ten, of course. Well, as part of your “exercise” in learning how to mix your game up, you make bets and raises ONLY with odd numbers. For instance, instead of raising 40 before the flop, you raise 43 or maybe 38. Instead of a
200 chip bet, you go for 199. And so on.
Now listen… THIS IS ANNOYING AS HELL. I’m serious… It’s one of the most annoying things ever. BUT, it’s a very useful way to get used to mixing up your betting strategy. The goal is to keep your opponents guessing at what you have… and always betting weird amounts certainly achieves this objective.
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POKER ETIQUETTE
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Before we get started into the strategies, let’s talk about poker etiquette… There are three primary reasons to always use proper poker etiquette at the table:
1. It shows respect for the GAME.
2. It shows respect for the PLAYERS.
3. Your opponents won’t “gun” for you.
The first two reasons SHOULD be enough to convince you to use proper etiquette… but the third reason is the icing on the cake. When you don’t follow the fundamental rules of poker etiquette, other players will become annoyed, angry, or whatever. The result is ugly.
The absolute LAST thing you want happening is all of your opponents BADLY WANTING YOU GONE. It alters the way the game is played… and NOT in your favor. Players will raise you when you’re in the blinds… use trap plays… and “gang up” on you whenever possible.
For instance, let’s say you’re short stacked and you go all-in before the flop. Your opponent is holding Queens, so he calls. ANOTHER opponent knows that he probably SHOULDN’T call with his K-J, but that doesn’t matter. He knows the odds that you lose the hand will INCREASE if he plays, so he calls too.
See what I mean?
I’ve seen this type of thing happen all the time to players who don’t adhere to proper etiquette. Plus, players who earn a negative reputation at the poker table are less likely to find as many games.
OK, so we’ve established that not using proper etiquette is a BAD IDEA. Now let’s discuss what poker etiquette REALLY IS… and how to follow it. First off, refrain from excessive trash talk. A little table talk is okay… I actually recommend it… but not TRASH talk.
For instance, when an amateur player chases a gutshot straight draw and HITS, the guy at the table who got burnt usually gets bitter. I’ll often hear things like, “You f’in idiot, don’t you know you’re not supposed to play stuff like that?!”
Don’t be like this.
Just stick to your game and your strategies.
Other players think it’s a GOOD idea to harass or try to INTIMIDATE the other players at the table… they think it will help them win.
For instance, just last night I heard a player bullying one of the younger guys at our table.
He kept asking him, “Do you like to suck on gas pipes? C’mon, do you?”
It made everyone at the table feel uncomfortable. And it created an atmosphere where everyone started secretly “gunning” for this arrogant a**hole.
And I don’t think it to be coincidence that he was one of the first guys eliminated from the table.
OK, so I’ve made my point. No trash talk.
The next rule for poker etiquette is to never play your hands out of turn. Sometimes, of course, this may happen by accident. If that’s the case, start paying closer attention to the game.
But what I mean here is when guys play out of turn in order to achieve some type of STRATEGIC GOAL.
For example, let’s say Richard is in the big blind and he’s got A-5 suited. Everyone at the table either folds or limps-in and it’s around to the guy in the small blind… who seems to be contemplating a raise.
Richard, who would like to see a cheap flop here, doesn’t want the player in the small blind to raise the pot. So he reaches for a large stack of chips and puts them in the middle… or, he reaches for a big stack and ACTS like he’s about to bet. Or, he could even say something like, “Raise.”
The particulars are not important. The point is, Richard KNOWS that it’s not his turn. What he’s trying to do is get the player in the small blind to NOT raise the pot… by scaring him into thinking he’s got a great hand. When the player in the small blind decides to just call the blinds because of Richard’s behavior (I used the name Richard for a reason!), Richard then decides to just CHECK when it REALLY IS his turn. This is bad poker etiquette. Do stuff like this and it WILL come back to haunt you, I can promise you that. Okay, let’s talk about third… and perhaps MOST IMPORTANT rule of poker etiquette. There are obviously tons of poker etiquette rules that I could spout out… but the others are mostly just common sense.
This third rule is this:
NEVER LOOK AT ANOTHER PLAYER’S DOWN CARDS.
The only time you are allowed to see another player’s cards is when the hand is over and you have called his bet. If he places a bet and you fold, you are NOT allowed to see his cards. Period.
I know, I know… you’re absolutely DYING to know whether or not he bluffed you. Just get over it!
Looking at another player’s down cards is CHEATING. Because what it’s doing is giving you information about a player’s betting habits that can be used later in the game.
In my opinion, this is just as bad as leaning over and looking at another player’s cards DURING THE HAND!
What’s perhaps even WORSE than picking up a player’s down cards after the hand and looking at them is doing it in a sneaky way that NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT. This happens in home games all the time.
For instance, let’s say Darren bets 800 in chips on the river and Jack folds. Jack had top pair but is afraid Darren had him beat with the flush. Now, Jack REALLY wants to know if he just got bluffed out of that pot.
Darren puts his two down cards on the table and rakes in his chips. Meanwhile, it’s Jack’s turn to shuffle. So he collects all the cards that are scattered around the table.
Now here’s what players will do all the time…
Jack will watch Darren’s two down cards and intentionally position them at the BOTTOM of the deck. Then, he’ll simply keep them on the bottom and gradually sneak a glance at each of the cards… or maybe he’ll do it after positioning them at the top. Either way, Jack has gained a valuable piece of information about the hand, but has also ruined the integrity of his own game.
This little maneuver happens way more often than you’d expect. Even with the most honest players.
So what should YOU do about it?
Well, for starters, you should NOT be one of these CHEATS. Secondly, when you make a bet and everyone folds, make sure you don’t just throw your cards into the muck in an easy-to-spot location. Just nonchalantly mix your cards up with the others on the table.
And last but not least… if you suspect that someone is doing this or WILL do this and he gets into this position, simply grab the winning two down cards (even if they’re not yours) and shuffle them into the mix yourself.
This will prevent the bad guy from cheating. And it will also give him a subtle message that you’re on to him.
OK, so that wraps up our discussion of poker etiquette.
No trash talk, no acting out of turn, and no looking at another player’s cards. The rest of poker etiquette is just the common sense stuff that you learned way back when you were in Kindergarten. Remember, it’s in YOUR OWN SELF INTEREST to use proper poker etiquette at the table.