The Benefits of Having a TAG Image
WARNING: Hand history to follow. I know most people hate HH's, but I had to share this one.
I'm playing 5/10, TAGging it up at a nice 15/9/3.5 clip or so, and I'm in middle/late position (MP3 to be exact)...
Me: 7h 6h
What the hell, I raise after two limpers (UTG and MP1). When you have a truly tight image, you can actually win a bunch of small pots this way (by raising pre-flop and leading out on the flop). Someone will call two cold or a raise with a marginal hand looking to hit a flop and when they miss and you lead, they dump it. So, great, I raise. It gets folded to the small blind who 3-bets. Uh-oh. Didn't want that, but since I'm already in for two, I should call the third bet, right? Of course. UTG folds, MP1 plays along and I call. So what flops?
Flop: 8s 4d 5h
Yahtzee. I start to giggle maniacally, and my wife peeks in from the kitchen to see if I've lost it in my pre-daddy hysteria or to see just what the hell is wrong with me. I answer her with (almost in sing-song), "Somebody's losing some mo----ney... Somebody's losing some mo----ney!!!" She realizes that she doesn't have to worry about me losing it because of the kid--it's already long gone.
To my further surprise, the SB leads out. MP1 calls, and I figure I'm not giving anybody a chance to catch a hand, so I raise. Both call. Yipppeee.
Turn: 3c
SB leads out AGAIN. I LOVE THIS GAME! MP1 calls again, and I raise--AGAIN. Rinse, repeat, right? Both call, again. Heehee.
River: 8c
Board pairs, so unless someone's playing 88 or has a set, a distinct possibility, I'm good here. The action's checked to me, I lead out, EXPECTING a check-raise, and just get called in both places.
The SB shows Ks Kd, MP1 shows 9h 9d (??!?!?!), and the $175 pot slides toward my little shark bubble. Then, the tilt begins. "You stupid donkey mutherf***er...(sic)" "Stupid moron..." "Friggin' PS is rigged..." MP1 just said, "nh," but the SB wouldn't let it go. He keeps it up for another 15 minutes, after which he's donked off the remaining $160 in his chipstack and leaves, busted.
Mission accomplished.
The lesson? Simple. When you've shown down your AK's, your QQ's, and other big hands, people put you on big hands when you show aggression. When you throw in a 76s here and there, whether you win the hand uncontested pre-flop or like I did, with a flourish of blood and chips, it's important to show that as well. It puts doubt in your opponent's mind. What is it? Deception. If all you've done is coerced even one player to keep playing with you after a pre-flop raise, you've succeeded. Next time, you'll show AA on an ace-high flop.
The way a poker player succeeds is not in playing a particular style, even to perfection, it's in being able to switch it up by flowing freely between styles during a session and maximizing not only value and odds, but also maximizing deception.
I'm playing 5/10, TAGging it up at a nice 15/9/3.5 clip or so, and I'm in middle/late position (MP3 to be exact)...
Me: 7h 6h
What the hell, I raise after two limpers (UTG and MP1). When you have a truly tight image, you can actually win a bunch of small pots this way (by raising pre-flop and leading out on the flop). Someone will call two cold or a raise with a marginal hand looking to hit a flop and when they miss and you lead, they dump it. So, great, I raise. It gets folded to the small blind who 3-bets. Uh-oh. Didn't want that, but since I'm already in for two, I should call the third bet, right? Of course. UTG folds, MP1 plays along and I call. So what flops?
Flop: 8s 4d 5h
Yahtzee. I start to giggle maniacally, and my wife peeks in from the kitchen to see if I've lost it in my pre-daddy hysteria or to see just what the hell is wrong with me. I answer her with (almost in sing-song), "Somebody's losing some mo----ney... Somebody's losing some mo----ney!!!" She realizes that she doesn't have to worry about me losing it because of the kid--it's already long gone.
To my further surprise, the SB leads out. MP1 calls, and I figure I'm not giving anybody a chance to catch a hand, so I raise. Both call. Yipppeee.
Turn: 3c
SB leads out AGAIN. I LOVE THIS GAME! MP1 calls again, and I raise--AGAIN. Rinse, repeat, right? Both call, again. Heehee.
River: 8c
Board pairs, so unless someone's playing 88 or has a set, a distinct possibility, I'm good here. The action's checked to me, I lead out, EXPECTING a check-raise, and just get called in both places.
The SB shows Ks Kd, MP1 shows 9h 9d (??!?!?!), and the $175 pot slides toward my little shark bubble. Then, the tilt begins. "You stupid donkey mutherf***er...(sic)" "Stupid moron..." "Friggin' PS is rigged..." MP1 just said, "nh," but the SB wouldn't let it go. He keeps it up for another 15 minutes, after which he's donked off the remaining $160 in his chipstack and leaves, busted.
Mission accomplished.
The lesson? Simple. When you've shown down your AK's, your QQ's, and other big hands, people put you on big hands when you show aggression. When you throw in a 76s here and there, whether you win the hand uncontested pre-flop or like I did, with a flourish of blood and chips, it's important to show that as well. It puts doubt in your opponent's mind. What is it? Deception. If all you've done is coerced even one player to keep playing with you after a pre-flop raise, you've succeeded. Next time, you'll show AA on an ace-high flop.
The way a poker player succeeds is not in playing a particular style, even to perfection, it's in being able to switch it up by flowing freely between styles during a session and maximizing not only value and odds, but also maximizing deception.
1 Comments:
Sweet (remind me to avoid you at the table).
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