PokerWorks

It's Not All About The Cards

In the previous assignment, we learned a method for how to classify your table. Obviously when you are playing in a poker tournament, you aren't going to be able to sit there and assign point values for every action a player makes. What the assignment was meant to do was show you the things you should be looking for when trying to figure out what type of table you are at.

Once you have figured out what type of table you are playing at, you will need to develop a strategy on how to play that table. The question you'll often be wondering is which style of play is best suited for a particular table classification. The best way to learn is through trial and error. I normally would prepare an assignment that would have you try each different playing style against each table classification but that would require probably 100 tournaments to achieve, so rather than do that I'll go over the different table classifications and what you should be looking to do against this type of table. One key point to remember is that we're talking about adjusting to an entire table, not just one player. We'll get more into that later.

Maniacal Table Classification

Any time you get several maniacs at one table, it completely shifts the dynamic of the table. With one maniac, it's not quite as crazy, but add in a 2nd or 3rd one and you're guaranteed to be playing a big pot nearly every hand. Hands like A-K and A-Q go down in value in these instances even though they are likely the best hand because you're going to be taking this hand up against 3-4 players and will need to improve to win the pot. Ideally, the best strategy against this table classification is to sit back and wait and pick your spots. Even then, you're likely going to have to avoid getting unlucky, so there is an argument to be made for trying to get involved in the action and get the bad player's chips when they are there for the taking.

What you do will depend on your comfort level. If you are more survival minded, then you should wait for a big hand and push it hard when you get it. If you are looking to maximize your opportunity to win the tournament, then you should look for spots to do just that. Position is crucial in these situations. The more information you have available to you, the better you will be able to control how many chips you risk. I won't tell you what hands to play... that'll be up to you, but you should play hands that either have strength already (big pairs, big aces) or ones that have good post-flop value if you hit (suited connectors, small pairs).

Aggressive Table Classification

Playing an aggressive table is different from a maniacal table in the way that there isn't quite as much insanity going on. Instead of multiple raises and re-raises in a hand, this table will likely consist of one or two raises. It is still going to require a similar play style, however, to the maniacal table, especially early in a tournament because when and if you do see flops the pot sizes are going to be bigger than they usually are and you will be facing decisions that could put all your chips at risk.

As in almost every poker situation, the better your position the more likely you should be willing to play a hand. There's good logic behind the saying “tight up front, loose in back.” I'll get into position in much more depth later but let's look at the same hand being dealt at an aggressive table classification with the only difference being position. The hand we're going to look at is pocket 10's. Every player has 2,000 in chips with the blinds at 10/20.

Hand #1, pocket 10's in early position

You: Raise to 60
Players#1-3: Fold
Player #4: Re-raises to 250
Player #5: Fold
Player #6: Re-raises to 500
Player #7-9: Fold

Hand #2, pocket 10's in late position

Players #1-3: Fold
Player #4: Raise to 60
Player #5: Fold
Player #6: Re-raise to 250
You: Call 250
Players #7-9: Fold
Player #4: Call 190

As you can see, the second one is much more advantageous. In the first hand, there is almost no way you can play the 10's after the two raises. In the second hand, because you have position you can play the 10's. The advantages of being in position become even more defined after the flop but you can see why at an aggressive table, you'll want to be in position when you decide to play a hand that is not a sure thing (i.e aces and kings).
Passive Table Classification

I love me some passive tables. To me, this is the best type of table to play at. What's not to like? People limping in every hand showing weakness. If you have a speculative hand you can join in the fun and see a cheap flop. If you have an above average to great hand, you can raise and if they all fold, you pick up a whole bunch of free chips and if they call, they're likely weak and going to let you have the pot post-flop anyway... more free chips. It's also an ideal time to pick up the occasional pot with nothing. For an aggressive, smart poker player it doesn't get any better than a passive table.

What approach should you use? Again, this is something you're going to have to figure out for yourself but I believe in taking what they give you. If they are letting you raise and win the pot pre-flop the majority of the time, then do it until they stop letting you. If they are letting you see a lot of cheap flops and you are slowly building your stack doing so, then do so until they change gears. When you are making moves, try and figure out what the table's folding threshold is. What I mean by that is what raise amount are they willing to fold to and what amount are they willing to call. Say the blinds are 15/30 and there are 4 limpers, will they fold to a 150 raise or will they call? If they will fold, then that is the amount you should use when you want them to fold. If they will call, then that is the amount you should use when you want them to call. Varying your raise amounts is fine as long as you mix it up so that you make the bigger raise amount with good hands occasionally, and the smaller raise amount with lesser hands.

Calling Table Classification

A calling table can be frustrating but it can also be extremely profitable. The frustration comes in players calling bets and hitting their cards. The profitability comes from players calling bets and not hitting their cards. The key to playing a table filled with calling station types of players is to not bluff and to value bet your strong hands hard. While I'm not a big advocate of varying bet sizes or making larger bets (because it makes the pot size unmanageable), against a calling table I believe this is the correct course of action. You want to make the players pay for their marginal hands and if you have a made hand you will get more value from this type of table than any other. Let me give you a couple of examples to show you what I am talking about.

In the first example, let's say that we've seen a flop with three other players at a standard table. You flop a set of 7's on a 9-7-2 two club board. You're scared of the draws so when it is checked to you, you bet the pot. Everyone folds and you've garnered no value for your monster. Same scenario except now you are at a calling table with five other players. Now your pot bet is likely going to get called. In fact, you can probably over bet the pot a little and get one or two callers. Of course if those draws do get there, you probably need to be more cautious than you would at a different type of table, but in the long run you'll end up way ahead betting strong at a calling table.

Bottom line for this type of table is to not bluff, bet made but not strong hands aggressive but cautiously, and bet made strong hands as much as you possibly can without your opponent's folding.

Standard Table Classification

A standard table is just that; a mix of players playing different styles with no discernible pattern. Typically, the play will be straight forward and you will need to base your play on who is in the hand with you. For example, if a super tight guy has entered the pot you would want to be more selective in the hands you play. If you are first to act from the button, you would want to base your decision on whether to raise or not raise the big blind dependent upon what their likelihood of calling/raising or folding is.

These tables don't happen often as the general trend is for a table to fall into a pack of some sorts and follow the leader. If there is a maniac or two raising it up every hand, you all of a sudden have a maniacal table. If there are four players limping in every hand, the natural tendency for the table will be for the table to become passive. It is very rare for each player to stick to their individual playing style when there is a dominant style of play taking place. People see what everyone else is doing and naturally follow along. More than any other type of table classification, a standard table will require that you play individuals more than the table itself.

Tight Table Classification

If we could sit at a table where players only raised with good hands and folded when they missed the flop, poker tournaments would be an easy game. Like a standard classification, tight tables are few and far between but they do happen, most notably at key times during a tournament like the money bubble of the final table bubble. If you are able to take advantage of this dynamic, you'll be amazed at how you are able to dramatically increase your stack size with little to no risk.
How many times have you heard or read about professional players raising 10 hands in a row on the bubble and winning 9 out of 10 of the hands. Sure they lost one hand, but the profit they had from the other nine hands more than made up for it. Why do the professionals do this? Because they can and because the table is allowing them to. Similarly, if you sit down at the beginning of a tournament and find out that your table is playing very tight and it appears as if they are only willing to get involved if they have a monster, then you should adjust your game to take advantage of this.

The best way to attack an overly tight table is to attack relentlessly. This doesn't mean raising every hand like I mentioned above (unless you truly can get away with it), but raise more often than you normally would and don't be afraid to see flops in position against players that have shown a tendency to fold post-flop if they miss. As I said, these tables don't happen often but when they do they are a dream come true, so don't nap through it.

There's a lot more about table dynamics and we'll go into different aspects throughout the remainder of the book. This is a good introduction to the topic though and should give you an idea of how to map out your table and adjust your play to the table's classification. In the next chapter, we'll start learning how to observe individual players and how to adjust your play to their strengths and weaknesses. Combine that with table dynamics and you'll begin to see how poker is not all about the cards.