PokerWorks

When I first started playing tournament poker, I was what most people might call a rock; except that was actually probably a little too kind. I was so tight, I made Mark Gregorich look like Gus Hansen . And I did well enough playing this way, even won a tournament or two, but I was always finding myself either coming up just short of the money or making the money with relatively no room for further play and thus no real chance at winning. It was profitable poker, but barely. I knew I had to do something.

I studied the game and with the help of a mentor, I was able to learn about this wonderful concept called table dynamics. He explained to me that in tournament play, each table has its own unique dynamic that dictates the style of play that will get you the chips at that table. When moved to another table, you will probably face a completely distinct and unique table dynamic. You must be able to change your game to take full advantage of the unique table dynamic that will be present at each table you are at. You must also be able to recognize when the dynamic at your table has changed, either due to a new player arriving at the table, or a shift in momentum due to chips changing hands and the stage of the tournament changing how people play.

Most players never consider table dynamics when they put together how they are going to play a tournament, and even the players that do recognize their importance, do not understand what method of play will get them the chips at the table. And thus, they are unable to take advantage of the table dynamics. Then you have the players who do recognize the importance of table dynamics and know the correct method of play but cannot adjust their game at the time that it needs adjusting.

These three categories of players make up the majority of players. It is the person who recognizes the importance of table dynamics and the style of play that will get them the chips AND who can adjust their game at the appropriate stages of the tournament that are the winning players. These players are putting themselves in a position to get lucky, so to speak, much more than random chance dictates.
So what can table dynamics do for you? Here are just a few examples:

• It can win you pots when you hold nothing. It can make the pots you win substantially larger by understanding the proper amount to bet in order to induce a call and/or raise when you are holding a premium hand.
• It can make the pots you lose smaller by giving you knowledge of your opponents and letting you know when you are beat.

A lot of people spend time learning what hands to play and from what position to play those hands. They spend time learning how much to bet and when to bet. And this is good. But the single most important thing any player can learn is to learn to understand your opponents. Try this sometime... watch a player who gives you trouble play in a tournament from start to finish. Don't do anything else while you are doing this. Watch them play. Learn the things that make this person tick; their strengths and their weaknesses. By doing this, observation of a player when you are actually playing against them becomes easier and eventually you'll find yourself almost not even needing to look at your cards to play against them.

Some things to look for when you are sitting down at a table and are studying your opponents:

1) What hands do they play and from what position, and how do they play them? For example, do they raise with K-J in early position? Do they limp with big pairs in early position? Do they raise with anything when they are first to act?

2) What hands do they reraise with? This will tell you a lot about how they a) react to other players b) what hands they believe have significant value.

3) How much do they bet pre-flop? What is their standard raise? Do they vary it? If they do, are you able to get any indication of why they vary it and with what type of hands?

4) How much do they bet post-flop. Do they bet draws? Do they raise draws? When they have a hand like top pair, how much do they bet? When they have the nuts or a hand close to it, how much do they bet?

5) How do they play speculative hands? Do they call raises pre-flop out of position? Do they call raises pre-flop in position? Post-flop - if they've flopped a draw, will they "chase" and if so, what size bets will they call and what size bets will they fold to.

6) How do they defend their blinds? Do they call any raise out of the BB or do they defend them aggressively by reraising? Do they fold their blinds unless they have a legitimate hand?

7) What is their general table image. What do other players think of this player (based upon their reactive play to them)? Is this player chatty or quiet? Do they give away any chat or verbal clues when they are in a hand?

Another important consideration, besides individual player's tendencies, is to determine how the table itself is playing. Often times, play at a table will follow suit. If one player starts limping a lot, then the table becomes a limp fest. If the table becomes hyper aggressive, then generally that is how the table is going to play. Or the table could be playing so tight (often this occurs right before making the money or a big pay jump) that it seems like no one wants to play a hand. Recognizing how the table itself is playing, and utilizing the above things to look for, can tell you when you need to make that change in strategy.

Tired of being card dead? Here's your answer: If you are able to take the time to figure out how players are playing, and how they react to various situations you will be able to rely less on your cards and more on taking advantage of your opponent's weaknesses while avoiding their strengths.