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Planning to Play or Structuring a Game Plan

I have talked about how to play against certain opponents, about the need to be observant at the table, and a bit about when to shift gears when your own play becomes far too predictable.  Let's get just a bit more sophisticated and look at specific weaknesses as you prepare to crush any table you are playing at. Structuring your game plan for playing poker is much like a pitcher and catcher along with their pitching coach structuring their approach to each batter they will face in a baseball game.  They look to exploit the weaknesses of each hitter and then pitch accordingly.  They look at situations like men on base and balls and strikes in an effort to adjust play to meet both the situational moment and the weaknesses identified in the hitter they are facing.  Put it all together and you have a model for thinking about how you will approach any game of hold'em or any poker game for that matter. I place players in broad, generalized categories depending on their major weakness that I observe either playing them for the first time or having played many hands against them in other games.  This is not to say the these players have a single weakness that can be exploited, rather, I am aiming first at their main weakness, the place they are most prone to make mistakes.  Broadly, there are the over and under bettors, the check-raisers with light hands, the overcallers with just a draw, the slowplay, big hand cowards, and the over and under defenders of blinds.

The Over and Under bettors

These are players who habitually overbet post-flop or underbet post-flop.  I want to play a fair number of hands with the overbettors when I am in position.  If I must act before they act I will tend to err on the side of caution.  When I know that I am facing a habitual overbettor, I may even limp in from early position and then call but I will most certainly check-raise post-flop.  If I get played back at I will go away. The underbettors post-flop pose a different problem.  I will only play strong hands, basically my range of hands for UTG or UTG+1.  Basically, draws are weak hands when someone is betting in a "normal" manner.  Most draws are priced out.  When someone underbets the pot poet-flop it often, but not always, is because they have a weaker hand.  Sometimes they are trapping with a monster, but that is for later.  The habitual underbettor is timid and doesn't want to commit many chips to the pot with a potential second-best.  By underbetting, they actually create the right price to call with most any drawing hand.  While I start out strong, many of the hands I hit will be a draw.  After all, AK, AQ, AJ and AT are drawing hands to begin with.  When I hit I will generally have between 4 and 9 outs plus the two overcards adding 6 more outs to the mix.  At worst I have 10 outs and at best I have 15 outs.  That meets my standard for a call or even a raise.  With a raise I may win the pot then and there and, even if I don't, I am likely to buy a free card on the turn, always a good thing with a draw.

The Habitual Check-Raiser

Check-raising is generally the sign of a strong made hand.  For the most part if someone very tight is check-raising I will get out of his way.  If the player is loose, a maniac, or otherwise reckless, I will fire one bullet back and see what he does.  If he plays back I will get out of the way.  But if he is one of those loose players who likes to bully the table I will often win the pot with my re-raise.

Inappropriate Oversize Bets

When the board is highly textured and I am faced with an oversized bet and I have a made hand or a very strong draw, I will come over the top and bet the size of the pot.  This move will absolutely price my opponent out of pursuing his draw and if he calls then I have the proper implied odds to keep going.  These players often think of drawing hands as quite strong when, in fact, they are quite weak, even strong draws are made only 1 in 8 tries.  Unless the pot odds are right, they are not worth pursuing.  When one habitually overbets a drawing hand they are making a mistake that I may be able to capitalize upon.

Players in the Blinds

Some players tend to not defend their blinds unless they have a monster.  Other players think it is a rule that each and every blind must be defended.  In the former case, I will attempt a steal frequently, but not every single time.  With the latter, because a steal never works, I wait for a premium hand and then I raise to 4 or 5 times the BB instead of my usual 3x the BB.  In either case, I want the blinds to surrender without a fight.

Last thoughts

Playing to exploit your opponents' weaknesses is a broad brush approach that must be constantly adjusted.  Just as a pitcher exploiting a hitter that has consistently had a problem with a fastball low and away will have to adjust when that hitter adjusts to overcome his weakness, you must adjust to the reality of the game.  When your read on players changes, change your game.  When it appears that they have a good read on you, change your game.  Constant adjusting and tweaking makes for strong play against each of your opponents.

About the Author

Roger Fischel began playing poker with his friends in high school.  Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw were the games of choice back then.  Over the years, Roger turned to Texas Hold 'em as his game of choice.  He plays both limit and no-limit hold 'em regularly.  During a long career as a teacher, Roger learned the value of sharing what he knows with others as a way to give back to the community in which he shares, thus, Rags to the River Poker was born.  Roger recommends online poker tracking software for improving one's game.  He also offers a listing of online poker sites which welcome US players.