Poker: Poker Strategy: Have a Gameplan Before the Game

Online Poker Strategy. Have a Gameplan Before the Game

Introduction

This will be the first of a series of four weekly articles about bringing improvement to your poker game. Be back on December 15th for the next installment.

The backdrop of this series will be a poker tournament that I played in over the weekend. If you don't play poker tournaments or if you don't play Texas Hold 'Em, don't stop reading because you think this article isn't for you. The four lessons will be useful to poker players at any level who play any game.

I lost my buy-in in this tournament, and I was the first player eliminated. All in all, very humbling for arguably one of the sharper players who was in the game.

Gameplan

The best poker I played in my life is the poker I played before I started taking the game seriously. I have found that the more obsessively I try to improve my game, the more rigid it has made me. Being rigid in the middle of gameplay can only give away precious information about your hand. So, I have made an effort towards a more fluid, laid-back style.

The lessons of poker strategy are important, but you have to remain instinctive during the game. To ensure that my game remained fluid, I opted not to put a great deal of thought into the game prior to starting. This is the mistake. Being so laid-back that you do not formulate even a vague gameplan before going in is as dangerous as having a gameplan that is too rigid.

Lesson #1: Have a gameplan.
In the interest of remaining flexible, I mistakenly decided not to put sufficient thought into the game. I sat down at the table with what I felt was a fresh start, but cliche or not, "when you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Putting together a gameplan prior to play should not be confused with making yourself too rigid to play a flexible, instinctive game. In fact, the point should be to put together a flexible gameplan, one that sets some assumptions but ultimately leaves you free to adjust your style as the game progresses and dictates.

Elements of the Gameplan

The type of players
Who is coming to the game and what do you know about them? If a particular player watches alot of poker on TV, expect that he may try to emulate the style of game he sees being played by professionals. This can prove fatal if he plays strategy that may work in big-stakes games, but not necessarily the one you play amongst friends. If a particular player is poor at hiding their tells (as in telegraphs, as in they can't hide what they have very well), make sure you remember the tells, make sure you share that information with nobody, and make sure you are looking for the tells when the game starts. If a particular player is loose, remember to avoid bluffing and slowplaying this player. The opposite if a particular player is too tight.

The type of game
What is the table climate and how do you fit in? Is the game loose, tight, aggressive, passive? If the table is loose, prepare to play a few more hands than you might normally. If the table is aggressive, prepare to play a few less hands in early position. If the table is tight, prepare to do more bluffing and slowplaying. If the table is passive, drop the slowplaying. It is important to keep this element of your gameplan flexible because the climate of the table might not be what you expect and even if it is, it will change as the game progresses.

The level of competition
Based on the stakes, how seriously is the game being taken by its players? If you're playing for fun, then you might be the most competitive and strategically-prepared player at the table. If you're playing in a competitive nature, then get ready for your opponents to show up with their best game.

Conclusion

These are guidelines only, not a checklist. You have two goals when you put together your gameplan: 1) have a gameplan, and 2) ensure it is flexible enough that it does not make you rigid during play and that it can adapt to changing conditions at the table. Players that do not have a gameplan have not put forward thinking into how exactly they intend to do well at the table. Players whose gameplan is too rigid will find themselves playing rigidly, giving opponents the chance to catch on to their gameplan and play against you accordingly. Don't write down your gameplan! If you do, you're already being too rigid. Be able to enunciate it before the game, but ultimately, have it in the back of your head.

More information on Poker Strategy:

Poker Probabilities
Pre-flop strategy
Post-flop strategy
Successful poker betting
The important art of bluffing
Chip and card handling
7 Card Stud