I noticed on another thread that a poster was being called a donkey etc because he didn't play his hand "correctly" although he managed to double up his chips.
What should hero ask himself each time he makes a decision before a play. e.g what's my opponents range? What does he think I think he has? etc
Hi Caesura,
This is the problem with being "results oriented." That means that playing a hand in a way that takes
equity and
odds into account, and that takes into account the type of player you are up against, and playing it perfectly, doesn't always guarantee that you'll win the hand! There is that element of luck in poker and sometimes you can lose to an opponent who catches one out of the only 2 cards in the deck that puts him ahead. You go all in while you are way ahead mathematically, but the other guy catches a runner runner and wins. So whether or not you win the hand doesn't necessarily indicate how well you played it.
You didn't tell us what kind of games you're playing or at what level. While I'm far from an expert, here's a partial list of what I think needs to be taken into account when playing at micro stakes, mainly preflop. Let us know if this is what you're looking for. I will tell you that the more I study poker the more I see how complex a game it can be. I also know that a large part of that complexity can come from me over thinking, so I'm focusing on preflop because I think smart preflop thinking can make postflop decisions much easier.
My position relative to other players: This is important for knowing what kinds of
hands to start with and whether or not I'll be in position for the remainder of the hand.
What kind of player am I up against: Reading here or other places about player types will show you that any trends you notice about the other player will help you interpret what he's doing and why. That will help you with:
What is the other player's range: Knowing something about how he plays, what kinds of hands is he likely to have here? What kinds of hands is he likely to raise with, or call a raise with, or 3bet with.
Once the flop is on the board, what is its texture: read about flop textures, and you'll see what that means. Then, combine that with what you think about that other player's range. How likely did the flop hit or miss him? How much did it hit or miss you?
