If you want to increase your poker skills and learn how to crush games, visit Jonathan Little’s elite training site at PokerCoaching.com/CardPlayer.
In a $10,000 buyout with six hands WSOP On this occasion, I arrived at the start of the tournament to find only three other players at my table.
Most of my opponents seem to play fairly tight and direct, and don’t seem to want to get out of line early in the tournament. However, it was clear that one player was looking to push everyone, trying to win a lot of small bets without contesting. Before the next hand, we only played a few bets together, and he won a few small bets from me.
I raised my collection to 600 out of 60,000 with 9
9
From interruption. My aggressive opponent asked the loose from the small blind. The flop came as 6
2
My opponent bet 1000 on me out of a pot of 1400.
I wasn’t sure what his collection was like because at least from A GTO From a standpoint, he should never lead from out of position when stacked deep, especially on a board that’s decent enough for my range.
Given his tendencies thus far, I assumed he was likely using some sort of hybrid strategy that involved a mix of hands, draws, and full bluffs. However, there is a possibility that he only leads with one specific type of hand, but I have no way of knowing which one.
I called because my hand works well enough against a mixture of hands. When you think your opponent may simply be trying to push you, don’t be afraid to reach out and see what develops, even when you could easily be crushed.
I called and it was 8th floor. My opponent bet 2600 in a pot of 3400.
At this point, I was convinced he was trying to get me to fold what I considered a marginal hand made. Although I didn’t have much to base my reading on other than our short history, I figured he would probably make a smaller bet (maybe 1,600 or so) if he wanted me to contact him.
I decided to trust my reading and called. Before calling, I decided that I did not plan to fold if my opponent continued to bet most rivers. If you pay close attention to your opponent, you will sometimes find places where you are as confident as possible that he is bluffing. This seemed like one of those situations.
I called and the river was 4. My opponent bet 5,500 in a pot of 8,600.
Although his river bet wasn’t as large in proportion as his turn bet, I decided to stick with my reading that he was bluffing a lot.
It is worth noting that if he made a bigger bet, I would be more inclined to call him. If he had made a small bet, maybe 4000, I would have been more concerned that he was trying to get me to call most of my pool, which likely meant he was betting on value. However, I’ll still probably call.
I called fairly quickly and was pleasantly surprised to see my opponent’s cards go down quickly, giving me a big hand at the start of the tournament.
It is important to realize that early in the tournament, whether I win or lose, the rough value of my hand will not be greatly affected because even if I lose, I will still have a big blind of 250. Whether I win or lose this bet, my opponent will receive a message that I I’m not someone who can get over him. Ideally, this would result in him playing a fairly straightforward strategy against me for at least the near future.
Sure enough, in this case, my opponent remained completely on my side for the rest of the day, allowing me to get away with everything I wanted. Especially when the chips you have to risk will not negatively impact the playability of your deck if you lose, don’t be afraid to step out of line a little if you think the outcome will be that your opponents will allow you to make easier decisions later in the day once the curtains get bigger.
I’ve created a simple flowchart to help you bluff like a pro. This flowchart contains five questions you should always ask yourself when deciding whether you should call the river with a Phish Hunter. I’ve also recorded a short video showing you how to use this flowchart by looking at two handy examples!
Get this Free trick to attract chart and video here.
When you join Card player poker school (It’s free to join), and you’ll also get:
• Free downloadable Preflop charts
• GTO Advance plans
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Jonathan Little is twice WPT Champion with over $7 million in live tournament winnings, best-selling author of 15 poker instructional books, and 2019 GBI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your poker skills and learn how to crush games, visit his training site at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.
