Pokers New World Order

Do you remember the first time you drove a car? My father took me out and we found an empty parking lot where, before he turned over the keys, asked me if I had any questions. I distinctly remember having more or less exactly none. Nope, I'd watched him do it a gazillion times at least and I'd been paying attention. I was ready to dazzle him with my natural ability. Then I turned the key and became acutely aware that the manual didn't actually describe the moment you're suppose to let go of the key but I quickly assumed that the grinding sound I heard was a good indication that the answer was about 2 seconds ago. By the time I had gotten out of the car I had found an entire host of questions that I didn't even know to ask before the lesson. It was at this point that my 'learning' really started. Turns out that this World Series was a lot like that first driving lesson; I have more questions that I did starting out.

First, if you're a veteran from back before tournament poker exploded, know that it's a whole new ballgame. While some of the techniques and strategies often used in tournaments are still valid, many are right out the window. Staying alive is still the key, but the perils you face are quite different than in the past. Since the key to winning a tournament is not going broke, one would expect one's opponents to make rational plays to that end. Well, herein lies the problem. Clearly, ones tournament strategies are going to have to change if your opponents are willing and able to try to commit poker suicide. How do I define 'poker suicide'? Here are a couple of examples:

During Day 1 of the Series I made it to 21 tables; on no less than 12 of those tables, I watched in amazement as player after player bet all-in into a dry side pot. Of those twelve, a total of two actually had a pair or better when they went all-in. A case in point: The blinds are $50/$100 and the button is in seat 5. Seat 8 brings it in for a call and seats 10 and 1 call. Seat 3 raises to $600 and it's folded around to the player in the 8 seat who goes all-in for $3000. Seats 10 and 3 call. The flop brings a 7d6h2c and seat 10 checks. Seat 3 goes all-in for $8000 and seat 10 mucks AK face up. Time to turn over the hands and we find that seat 8 has AQ which beats seat 3's KJ handily when neither player receives help.

Here's another example from Day 3: Seat 4 was first to act and went all-in for $38,000. He was called by seat's 5,7,8,9 and 2 putting four people all-in. His hand? QhJh. Seats 5 and 7 had chips left and seat 5 went all-in himself for another $20,000 on a flop of Qs3c7d. Seat 7 mucked and we saw the hands. Seat 5 had AdTd, seat 8 turned over 9c9s, seat 9 showed an Ac6c and seat 2 had 3h3d.

So what's an aspiring world champion going to do? How are you going to make it through the squadron of kamikazes at your table? One error that I saw otherwise great players continually make during the World Series was a lack of adaptability. Let's take a look:

There are only six mistakes a player can make after the flop. You thought it was more, didn't you? The six are:

1. Folding when one should call.
2. Folding when one should raise.
3. Calling when one should fold.
4. Calling when one should raise.
5. Raising when one should fold.
6. Raising when one should call.

(For the purposes of this list - assume that if your opponent checks and you check behind him, you are 'calling' his check. Likewise, if your opponent checks and you bet, then you are 'raising' his check.)

If your goal is to play winning poker, then you have a responsibility to punish your opponent for his mistakes. If your opponent frequently makes the mistake of folding when they should be calling or raising, then you take advantage of that error by betting into him more often than you might otherwise do - increase your aggressiveness and bluffing frequency. If on the other hand, your opponent has a tendency to raise too much, particularly when they should be folding or calling instead, then you should call with marginal hands more often.

This may seem simple but there is a problem. We each have our own individual playing style that we've developed over the years of our poker playing careers. If we are winning players, we are understandably hesitant to change and yet as the game changes - be it a session, as new players come and go, or a more fundamental change in the overall field, we must change our game plan. This year I watched tournament pro after tournament pro fail to reign in their aggression against players who simply didn't know how to fold and they suffered the consequences as they fell to the rail. The same style which had worked so well in years past had become their downfall when the texture of the game changed and they failed to change with it. It was embarrassing to listen to the complaining by the pro's on this one. They lost because 'this idiot called' or because these people just don't know how to play'. (A notable exception being Daniel Negreanu who immediately realized that it was his errors and not theirs which caused his downfall.) Poker is primarily a game of skill. It is inarguable that there is a luck factor but over the long haul it is the skillful players who shall get the money over their less skillful opponents. This is a fundamental truth of poker and without it I might be punching a clock somewhere. With that in mind, let me assure you - if the worst player in the world is beating you, you are not losing because he is stupid - you're losing because you failed to adapt to his stupidity. Adaptability is a skill, one which is going to have to be honed in order to rise to the top of pokers new world order.

© The Poker Forum.com, all rights reserved