5/10, 4/8 players! Try this ploy... |
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Posted Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:45 pm GMT by mindgame
Most players here will tell you that there aren't many moves available in the 2/4, 4/8, and 5/10 games, and the fact is that most players there will call you down whenever they get suspicious--they'd much rather pay you off than suspect they've been bluffed.
I've noticed something lately, though, that is both funny and profitable:
I typically play 10/20, occasionally higher. The last few times I've played I've done well and sensed that either the table had shifted and gotten a lot tougher and tighter, or that the cards seemed to cool off in that maddening way that we at least imagine that they do. Anyway, what I've been doing is playing 3 or 4 rounds when my stacks are high and the action's cooled, and if I don't hit a hand I pick up and go play 5/10 to "wind down."
Now something really odd happens when you sit down with 5/10 players and they know you are a 10/20 player, and I remember this from when I was strictly a 5/10 guy myself. Some guys virtually freak. They give you way too much respect. They assume you are much better than they are (which is rarely the case), and they play with extreme caution. I've found that I can raise early with hands as low as 77 and isolate the blinds! Betting aggressively seems to totally intimidate the table. They assume that you know exactly what they are holding, and of course, on those super-obvious situations when you can name their cards it isn't hard to reinforce that perception.
So how can you use this? Well I've used it lately to make an average well over $100/hour the last three times I've shifted down to 5/10 to wrap up an evening. The last time I played I probably overdid it a bit dropping 2 1/2 red racks on the table pulling out $200 and change and going off to the cage to color-up--but they sure as hell were watching me like a hawk when I sat back down. I rarely make more than that playing 10/20!
I would suggest you try this (it's worked for some friends of mine). If you are not well known in a casino, walk in and sign up for the 10/20 tables as well as the 5/10. If it looks like you'll get called to 10/20 first, wait until you're only 3 or 4 seats out on the 5/10 list, then get on the other list. The point is that you want to get the call to 10/20 while you're sitting at that 5/10 table. Sit and play very quietly (and very tightly). Try to act a bit bored or aloof. When they call you for the 10/20 game acknowlege the call and then get up and ask the room manager to put you back on the bottom of the list. You don't want to overplay this and beat them over the head with the fact that you're "slumming." If you try to be subtle they will assume you are trying to hide your "real" level of skill. If someone says something, tell him that the game looks like it might be fun and the action at the 10/20 table seems to suck anyway.
Wait and see how you are treated. You will be amazed.
One last nugget: As you play, remember that, maybe you aren't a 10/20 player, or a 20/40 player, but you know (or can invent) exactly how one would play. No matter what happens, you will always have the perfect explanation: if something works, you can say "I could never have tried that in 10/20," or even "Wow, I didn't think that would work in 5/10!" If something doesn't work you just say, "Damn, I've got to remember where I'm playing...it's different down here."
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Posted Sun Sep 05, 2004 11:20 pm GMT by groton
lol
that even works from 4/8 down to 2/4
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