The Next Level - Beyond ABC Poker

Most poker players, especially the ones that get good, go through a number of stages in their career. At first you’re just trying to remember the rules and get used to the actions of playing poker. Then you learn a little bit about strategy, you tighten up your range preflop, you become disciplined postflop, and you start to breakeven, maybe even make a little profit.

That’s where a lot of players get stuck. They play tight, and usually they get the best of it in the big pots, but they still can’t really make much profit. A lot of those players start blaming it on bad beats, or saying that you can’t beat a table full of fish. They’re wrong on both counts. They can’t win because they’re playing simple ABC poker, and it’s not enough.

So how do you break out of your breakeven play? Some experts will tell you to loosen up preflop, but I think that’s the wrong way to go. Expanding your preflop range can help, but you have to be an expert to do it succesfully, and you’re not there yet. Instead, I suggest two major adjustments that fall under the same category: competing for more pots.

Many tight players are afraid to get involved in the action unless they are sure that they have an advantage. Such tentative play is never rewarded with large profits. You need to actively seek out ways of taking pots. The obvious way to do this is by increasing the amount you bluff and semi-bluff. Try to detect patterns in your opponents’ play that reveals weakness. Many players fold the turn consistently when they don’t continuation bet the flop. Try to recognize and take advantage of these give-aways.

One of the biggest improvements you can make to take the next step is two-barreling and three-barreling a lot more often. Most weak players will only bluff at a pot once. Once they get called, they get scared. Firing a second barrel (bluff bet) will often convince your opponent that you have the goods, which means they’ll fold some decent hands.

Look for players that are weak (like you, until now). Does he routinely showdown monster hands? If so, he’s probably folding his decent ones, so get in on the action and try to bluff him out. Don’t be afraid of looking stupid or of people typing rude things into the chat box. Bad players always think that good players are bad. Have confidence in your ability to read your opponents, it’s the only way that you’ll improve.

“Bluffcatching” is another way to take your game to the next level. You should be prepared to call down aggressive players, even with minimal holdings. It may go against what you’ve learned to call the flop, turn and river with only top pair, but against some players it’s the right move. Again, don’t worry about looking dumb, sometimes they’ll have a monster and you’ll look like an idiot, but so what?

When you start to make these adjustments, you may find that you’re now losing money instead of breaking even. Stick with it! Learning what situations you can take advantage of and which you have to stay away from is a tough, lifelong goal. The only way to improve is to try, and to learn from your mistakes.