when your opponents play you |
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Posted Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:50 pm GMT by krakajak
The other day I was in a pot-limit SNG, and there was one player who woluld call whenever an opponent showed strength, and then bet the max if the second or third card paired, or if a straight or flush could easily be made. Players like this give me trouble, so I avoided playing pots with him, but once we were the last two left, I had little choice. I started out with about 2000 more chips than he had. The turning point was when I got A  8  , bet the max and he called. The flop was Ace high with three clubs. I bet the pot and he called. The turn was a fourth club, and he moved all-in. I knew he would play the same whether he had me beat or not. then I thought, "If I call and lose, It'll be my 2000 chips vs. his 11000. No way I can win. But if I fold, I'll still have 4500 chips, vs. his 8500. I think I can beat him with 4500 chips." So I folded, and he showed his cards: King high, no club, no pair. He went on to beat me.
Then today I was in the cut-off at an MTT with K  6 . I had about 11,000 chips, as did the player to my left. Other than us, no one at the table had more than 5,000. I raise it a single bet, which is enough to force BB all in if he wants to call. The other big stack calls, SB folds, BB calls. The flop is 2,3,9. I check and he bets half the pot. I fold and he shows 86o. His bluff didn't help him, as BB ended up winning the pot with Q high. The thing is, I know the only reason my opponent called was because he knew I was stealing, and he figured he could mess with me. I dealt with it by not trying to steal anymore.
Anyway, how do I deal with players like these?
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Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 11:05 am GMT by titans4ever
I have had the same problem at times. I have noticed that when i am having difficultly in dealing with them is when I am not playing top hands, high pairs, AK etc. It is when I am in an agressive mode and playing some hands out of position or high cards/low cards (K3 for example) I have trouble.
By tighteng up my playing alittle, I know I have a good hand and am not afraid to call his pushing around, it only takes one or two times of you getting the better of him that he will respect your ability enough to stop.
By calling him and allowing him to get burned a couple of times is about the only way to get him to stop. Otherwise he will keep buying pots and making money.
Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 2:38 pm GMT by krakajak
The thing is, I don't think I was playing loose at all. In the first situation we were heads up, so I couldn't wait around for AK. In the second situation, I was the first one in from the cut-off. In that situation, K6s is too good of a hand to not try for a steal, especially when you're the big stack.
Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:40 pm GMT by titans4ever
I think the biggest question you have to ask is what was you goals going both these situations. The first book I ever read about Hold'em said that when you analyse your play you have to compare it to your goals for the day.
When you were heads up with that person, have you achieved your goal of top two? I think you made the right call in a pot limit setting. No one hand is going to kill you unless you let it. I personally don't play pot-limit so my advice is weak in that area.
I think you made the right call in the second instance. You made your play with what you were willing go in for. Let him have the small victory as long as you can still reach your goal (he still did not end up winning the hand). I am a steady person myself and my goals are usually to finish in the money (not so much to win each week) so I tend to play a slightly tight game and not lose chips if I don't need to.
Sounds like you are a passive/agressive player like myself and trying to bully the bully is a hard thing to do if it is not in your playing style. I play passive if I don't have the nuts or a sure thing but can be very aggressive when I do. I have a hard time going all in unless I know I have the "nuts". If that is you, you made the right call both times.
Hope this makes sense. I think your were 2 for 2 in right calls.
Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 10:04 pm GMT by gol4pro
There's a word for these people: aggressive moron. You have to lower your standards against them a little bit. For instance, if I raise preflop with KK, the flop is QJ2, and I bet and get raised all in, I might not call that normally. But against one of these types, you have to, because more often than not they're going to show you QTo instead of a set of 2's.
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