(I’ve been told that Iggy put up a link to this blog somewhere in an ocean of links. In the odd case that any of his readers accidently clicked that specific link and found their way here - welcome.)

Okay, so I didn’t actually intend to make this a two part post about close calls, but I made an adjustment this past week that is somewhat related to close calls, so I wanted to add something about it.

That poker learning is cyclical shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; almost everyone starts off playing very loosely, and the first adjustment they make is tightening up and being more selective about the hands they play. After awhile, they may become rocks, playing only very strong hands. Then they get more skilled and realize that there is profit to be had in opening up a little; they can play better than their opponents in marginal situations, so they can afford to raise on the button with KJs, and then they may actually overdo it and go on rampage for awhile, after which they settle down and tighten up a bit, and…

You get the idea. We are like pendulums around optimum strategy.

So my own pendulum has been on the loose side of the center lately, and I’ve hammered away at what I conceive to be potential leaks. Here’s something I used to do but stopped for whatever reason:

Play passively and very tightly for the first few rounds at the table.

I swear I’ve read this in more than one book. And it’s good advice - without any idea at all who you’re playing against, you should play very carefully with marginal hands. So whereas I’ll happily raise KTs on the button in a game I’ve been in for more than 30 minutes, I’ll now quietly fold it if it’s the first orbit. This was the latest problem I corrected.

So how is this connected to close calls? Because it boils down to the same thing: It’s about putting yourself in spots where you have easy decisions to make, and intentionally staying away from situations where you’ll be forced to make difficult decisions. I don’t raise KTs in the first orbit, because if the big blind calls, I won’t know the first thing about him, or how to play optimally against him. Even if my hand has better equity than his, I won’t be able to properly realize that equity into dollars. If he calls the flop, should I bet the turn again unimproved? It doesn’t take long to find the people who automatically peels on the flop but instantly folds everything but top pair on the turn, but this may be my first hand with him.

Give yourself easy decisions and you’ll make fewer mistakes. And making fewer mistakes than your opponents is the name of the game. I’m now a happy folder for the first three orbits or so. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

A reminder before I sign off:

We’re only a few days into June, so even if you haven’t set your goals for the summer yet, do it now! Post in the thread.

Happy summer,

Fredrik