Playing Unpredictably (Day 22 Course Discussion)

Andrew Popov said:

Interesting topic. Probably at low limits, as well as in tournaments where there are a lot of random players and no one has statistics on opponents - unexpected decisions can be confusing. A good bluff to steal widely.

But in a regular game, one should rather adhere to a clearer strategy, allowing oneself to deviate only occasionally, for in a suitable position and with an interesting hand in the later streets.

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Tux97 said:

This is a fascinating subject to learn! I feel this is the chapter of the book where I start learning about more advanced topics in poker so thank you for making it so accessible.

In situations like hand 22-1, the big risk of not shoving or betting bigger is the possibility of villain making a stronger hand on later streets but I guess that's just part of the game! Am I correct in understanding that what you meant in the analysis of this hand that sometimes we should indeed shove with AA or 22 to keep villain guessing?

I have a question about the hypothetical situation you mentioned around 7:20 in the video Collin. You said a hand like A9o would not be an ideal candidate for a light 3-bet, but in the book ATo is regarded as such in hand 22-2. Is that because hero is defending the BB in the video?

Also, can limping be added to our 'arsenal' of unpredictable play or should we just adhere to what we learned earlier in the course and almost always bet/raise/fold unless we are defending the blinds or set mining?

Thanks again!

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Collin Moshman said:

Glad you enjoyed this Day of the course!

I would shove 22 here against almost any opponent. With AA, I would shove against a good player to keep him guessing, exactly like you're saying -- the problem is that a small 3-bet would likely look too strong because I'd only be making that play with monster hands. So it's better to be unpredictable against someone who understands that a small 3-bet here represents a lot of strength.

A9o 3-bet: As a general rule, if you have a hand that is more than strong enough to call a raise, but you wouldn't want your opponent to 4-bet you, then you shouldn't make a light 3-bet. With that A9o, it's not quite strong enough to continue facing a 4-bet against most opponents, but also too strong to want to fold. So it all comes down to the specific for which hands you pick. A9o might make a great light 3-bet if you can easily fold it facing a 4-bet, but blind-vs-blind it's too strong to normally use in that way.

Limping. There are definitely good players who incorporate open-limping (when first in) into their strategy from different positions, but I recommend only doing it from the small blind. Stay aggressive and give yourself a chance to win the pot pre-flop

Great questions and I hope this helps!

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johnnylawford said:

I find this is most important blind vs blind. You can make a lot of profit by having a mixed limping range where your opponent will raise/jam over your small blind limps late in a tournament with weak hands if they think a limp always means weakness.

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johnnylawford said:

I find this is most important blind vs blind. You can make a lot of profit by having a mixed limping range where your opponent will raise/jam over your small blind limps late in a tournament with weak hands if they think a limp always means weakness.

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Collin Moshman said:

Definitely, in blind battles vs regs you need to be unpredictable with your SB open-limping range. Strong but playable hands like ATs can make great ones to limp into regs.

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fundiver199 said:

If I limp from small blind, I typically do it with my entire range, because this is easy and not exploitable. The alternative is to put the strongest hands like JJ+ and AK into your limping range and jam less playable hands like rag aces and small pairs as explained in the course.

I have noticed a tendency among regs on 888 Poker to use very large raise sizes against small blind limps. 4BB, 5BB or even 6BB is common. Personally I dont really get the rationale behind this, because big blind has position, so he dont need to give small blind such bad odds to generate folds.

If the player to my left does this, or if he raise all my limps, then my next limp will be a trap, and there BOOM I am with a limp-reraise. This also tend to shut down that kind of action

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Good Man said:

To make it harder for the OPPS to adapt to me, they will have to change their style of play from time to time. This is done when other players are used to my style and try to counteract it. And at the moment when I finally confused one of our opponents, there is one less oppa at the table — now he will only play against me with monsters.
As in any business, creating an unpredictable image will require some investment. At the same time, it is very important not to play too much and calculate how many chips I can afford to lose, so that this does not affect my overall standings.

I convince the opponent that I am a loser by playing a couple of garbage hands at the very beginning, or I will play a few times in a HA call on the preflop, look at the actions of our oppa and prepare a trap for him — there are a lot of options.

Creating an unpredictable image at the table is not easy, but it is profitable. Experienced players can imagine how to play against tight, autocollers, loose and nits, but how to play against someone whose style of play can not be classified?

I think that a good poker player always adheres to certain rules, and the ideal player comes up with and plays according to their own!




Life is a game , play beautiful

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