Adjusting Poker Styles

January 22, 2008

In order to make the most money at the table you want to be adjusting poker styles to fit the feel of the table. If you feel like this is a part of your game that you are weak at, then we suggest you read this article. Once you get this down, extra money will be flowing into your pocket from the weaker players at the table.

A question often asked is what style a player uses. The answer that is given isn’t quite as important as what the other people are saying. If you are at a table and your opponents are saying that you are too tight, aggressive, loose, or passive, then think carefully about the impression that you are giving off.

The best kind of player you can be is one that they say nearly all of those things about because you do want to be loose, tight, and aggressive in different situations and circumstances. One thing that you have to do if you want to play winning poker is to force your opponent into making touch decisions. This is why people should raise instead of just calling - to force that decision onto your opponent. Forcing your opponents out of their comfort zone will leave you with more of their money at the end of the session.

Let’s take a look at some examples to further the point:

You have an opponent on your left that is playing too tight before the flop. You can punish him by being more aggressive and raising more often. He will either adjust his play or you’ll end up with more of the blinds.

If you steal the blinds that’s good, but if he adjusts you are in an even better position. He’ll have to start playing more hands pre-flop and that change of playing style will run him into trouble down the line. If he normally only plays strong hands then he won’t know what to do with weaker hands on the turn and river.

Another situation is a tight opponent who likes to raise in front of you. In this situation you want to tighten up and wait for stronger hands. You’ll save money by getting out of the way with his stronger hands and if he adjusts into playing more hands then you can own him in the later rounds.

What if a player at the table is playing too loose? If you are acting before him, then you will want to wait on stronger starting hands to come in. The value on marginal hands come when your opponent folds immediately, but the value of those hands decreases when the opponents are always in on them. He may win more pots, but you’ll win more money on the fewer pots that you stay in for.

If the loose player raises you then you can either call or raise with weaker hands. By taking control of the hand like this you can pick up more pots later on. Dare the other players to change their style, and if they don’t you are getting the best of it and if they do, then that player will make mistakes you can take advantage of later in the hand.

If you want to win at poker then you need to have a wide range of tools in your arsenal. It’s helpful to be able to adjust to the table and force the players out of their comfort zones, but it’s also helpful to take advantage of your own image at hte table when the players label you either too tight or too loose.

In order to take advantage you’ll have to pay attention to everything all of the time. Every hand will give you more clues to figure out how your opponent thinks and how he will play future hands. Plus, if there is a better player at the table you can watch and learn.

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Adjusting Poker Styles

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