Friday, February 14, 2014
When To Shift Gears In Poker
Doyle Brunson, the twice world champion of poker and Hall of Fame
member, talks a lot about "shifting gears." Of course, now that
almost everybody drives a car with an automatic transmission, the
concept of shifting gears may not have the impact it once did. So,
pretend you're driving a big old truck or a small sports car without
automatic. You need to shift to match driving conditions.
In poker, you can shift gears by changing from a very aggressive
style of play to a more defensive one, from tight to loose, from
bluff mode to non-bluff mode and back again. The object of shifting
gears is to keep opponents off guard.
The nice thing about shifting gears in poker is that you always know
right away that you've shifted, but your opponents may throw
thousands of dollars your way before they figure it out. But, what
if your opponents aren't paying any attention to you? Then, shifting
gears is silly. You might as well just make your most profitable
long-range decision on every play. There's no reason to sacrifice
the top choice in an effort to throw your opponents off-guard,
because they simply aren't reacting to you.
But that last type of opponent is more theoretical than actual. All
opponents react to what you do to some extent, whether they realize
it or not. Still, changing gears just for the sake of it doesn't
accomplish much. You need to use the right gear at the right time.
No sense cruising along the highway, making good time toward your
destination, with no traffic, thinking, "Hey, I haven't shifted
gears for a while, maybe I'll shift down to first gear and gradually
rebuild my speed from there."
talking about here , Poker, and Life Strategy.
Shifting Gears for the Right Reasons
Shifting gears is simply the act of changing tactics suddenly
between tight and loose, between aggressive and passive, and back
again.
There is no word-class player who stays in the same gear all the
time. You can't maximize your profit without shifting gears, but
shifting gears for the wrong reason can just cost you money. Sure,
if your opponents are playing strict game theory without making any
adjustments in accordance with how you play, you can only lose money
by shifting gears. There's simply no reason to do it.
Shifting gears should only be done to confuse opponents or to
enhance your image. There is no other reason whatsoever to shift.
However, this does not mean that you shouldn't "randomize" your
decisions, even against some opponents who may not be paying
attention when you change tactics. If you're playing against an
excellent opponent who is using game theory to his benefit (whether
perfectly or imperfectly, whether consciously or unconsciously), you
need to vary your decisions. Bet sometimes, but not always, with
given hands. Bluff at random, but at the right frequency.
But shifting gears is different from this kind of sudden
randomization. Shifting gears means you've changed your basic mode
of aggression or deception and intend to stay in that new mode for
many hands, many minutes, or maybe for hours.
There are only four good reasons to shift gears.
To be less predictable and more confusing;
To attack their money;
To defend your money;
To let opponents self-destruct.
Shifting to appear less predictable only matters against certain
players.
They are ones who otherwise (consciously or unconsciously) would
understand how you're playing and who would and could take advantage
if you stayed in the same gear.
Don't shift unless you need to.
Stay in your most profitable gear as much as possible. If you don't
need to shift, don't!
Which gears work best?
Consider a low gear (conservative and unaggressive) against tight,
sensible opponents in rake games, because a fast strategy will eat
up your profits in rakes. Also use a low gear when you've been seen
losing or otherwise haven't been able to establish a dynamic image -
but have tried. This is very important, because normally borderline
bets and raises are unprofitable against opponents who are inspired
by your bad luck and may play better and become more deceptive as a
result.
Middle gears (sometimes aggressive, but also sometimes defensive)
work best against aggressive and sensible opponents, but you should
often shift up or down from middle gears. Middle gears should also
be used against opponents who bluff often. In that case, middle gear
often can mean calling, but not raising.
High (fast) gears should be used against opponents who are
intimidated by your image. Also use high gears while you are
building your image. When you're winning against weak opponents
whose main fault is that they call too much with bad hands and don't
raise enough with valuable hands, go into high gear and stay there
unless conditions change.
The simple truth about shifting gears.
Your primary goal should be to get into medium-high gear and stay
there as much as possible. But -- except in rare games where
opponents call too much, raise too little, and don't adapt -- you
will lose money if you stay locked in the highest gear.
When you suddenly shift gears, you have the advantage!
Even the most observant opponent has no way to tell that you shifted
right away. This advantage of "acting first" in shifting your
strategy before your opponents shift in response is available to all
players. Make sure you use it often and hope that your strongest
opponents don't use it as much.
Even unobservant opponents can be confused by gear shifting.
Unconsciously they sense volatility and become more timid and play
worse against you.
BIG MISTAKE:
When you're in high gear and controlling the game You should almost
never shift down to play a big hand deceptively. Just keep betting
and raising. Take advantage of your aggressive and deceptive image
as long as it's working.
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