U
Ubercroz
Visionary
Silver Level
I have been thinking a lot recently about adjusting to our opponents play. It's discussed on a fairly regular basis, but not really to an in depth level. But it is, I believe, the most critical skill that a good poker play can develop.
When you notice that an opponent has certain tendencies (tight, loose, aggressive, passive, etc.) it is important that you conform you play to take advantage of that kind of play.
This sounds pretty simple. Someone plays too tight, you loosen up. Someone plays too loose, you tighten up and value bet. Straight forward, right? Wrong.
Adjusting is not that simple. You must first be able to accurately assess what the deficiency of the player you are against is. You must do this quickly. The faster you can adjust your play, the more hands you have to take advantage of the adjustment you made. Perhaps more important than speed is accuracy of your adjustment.
I think this is where most of the worse players really make their mistakes. They adjust wrong. They over adjust or under adjust. Typically people over adjust. They see someone playing too tight and they WAAAAAAY loosen up. Wrong call. Loosen up a little, percentage points in the low single digits.
The worse player does two things wrong. They over adjust and they do it with too little information, or too quickly. They get 3bet from the blinds once when they steal and then never steal again.
If you want to improve your game, first focus on making the right adjustment. Really focus on the manner in which you should adjust your game.
Look at your default game and make a conscious decision as to what the adjustment you make is going to be. Define that hand range. If you know, to a certainty, what your actual hand range will be when you adjust then you will be able to adjust more accurately when you do it.
I have personally written out my hand ranges. They deviate from the normal hand ranges a little based off my experience, what hands I play profitably, and how I feel they play postflop. But I know my default. I know what hands I throw out when the play is too loose and I need to tighten up my game. I know what hands I add in when I think its time to widen up.
I have made all of these decisions before I sit down to play. The hands are pre-determined and I can now focus on the decisions in the game, not whether or not I will play this hand this time. My adjustments are already decided too.
Now that I know what to adjust to, I need to get better at doing it more quickly. that part is more hard, and I don't have good answers on it.
Play tight, learn how to adjust, but don't go overboard.
Anyone else's thoughts on adjusting to your opponents and how you adjust to them would be interesting to hear.
EDIT - I wrote "hear," should be read. I only hear what you type when I read it out loud because I'm learning impaired.
When you notice that an opponent has certain tendencies (tight, loose, aggressive, passive, etc.) it is important that you conform you play to take advantage of that kind of play.
This sounds pretty simple. Someone plays too tight, you loosen up. Someone plays too loose, you tighten up and value bet. Straight forward, right? Wrong.
Adjusting is not that simple. You must first be able to accurately assess what the deficiency of the player you are against is. You must do this quickly. The faster you can adjust your play, the more hands you have to take advantage of the adjustment you made. Perhaps more important than speed is accuracy of your adjustment.
I think this is where most of the worse players really make their mistakes. They adjust wrong. They over adjust or under adjust. Typically people over adjust. They see someone playing too tight and they WAAAAAAY loosen up. Wrong call. Loosen up a little, percentage points in the low single digits.
The worse player does two things wrong. They over adjust and they do it with too little information, or too quickly. They get 3bet from the blinds once when they steal and then never steal again.
If you want to improve your game, first focus on making the right adjustment. Really focus on the manner in which you should adjust your game.
Look at your default game and make a conscious decision as to what the adjustment you make is going to be. Define that hand range. If you know, to a certainty, what your actual hand range will be when you adjust then you will be able to adjust more accurately when you do it.
I have personally written out my hand ranges. They deviate from the normal hand ranges a little based off my experience, what hands I play profitably, and how I feel they play postflop. But I know my default. I know what hands I throw out when the play is too loose and I need to tighten up my game. I know what hands I add in when I think its time to widen up.
I have made all of these decisions before I sit down to play. The hands are pre-determined and I can now focus on the decisions in the game, not whether or not I will play this hand this time. My adjustments are already decided too.
Now that I know what to adjust to, I need to get better at doing it more quickly. that part is more hard, and I don't have good answers on it.
Play tight, learn how to adjust, but don't go overboard.
Anyone else's thoughts on adjusting to your opponents and how you adjust to them would be interesting to hear.
EDIT - I wrote "hear," should be read. I only hear what you type when I read it out loud because I'm learning impaired.