Not playing by the book

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4BeLikeWater4

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When you aren't playing by the book and playing unorthodox in an MTT, what exactly are you doing differently? I've been watching thebattler33 on Carbon and decided to Google this player and I've seen a lot of players saying how good he is, but plays a really unorthodox style. So what does he do differently than what other top MTT players do?
 
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Tgen

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playing like a maniac doesnt make you unorthodox if you know how to do it , i dont know what books you have read but many of the modern books mostly talk about how to employ such strategies , many accept that such styles are the most profitable if you are good with them.

If you want to do big bluffs all the time you need to have great hand reading skills and you must do it on a player who is capable to fold , i guess he know how to read flops and bet patterns , i suppose his tactics work better against another maniac who 3-barrel or 3-bet a lot , if you can identify that player its possible to outplay him if you become more aggresive than he is with all-in moves on the river but only if you are 100% he is bluffing and he is not pot commited.

Its certainly high variance style and requires great reads , modern tactics though help a lot such maniacal strategies , the counter to aggresion is even more aggresion.
 
snklzona

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I play unorthodox in that I do not always fo as the book says to...
 
caintain

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not playing by the book is the only way to win online anyway...
I don't play as maniac live as i do online.
 
Aleksei

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the counter to aggresion is even more aggresion.
mmm... I wouldn't think so. I'd think the counter to a solid lag strategy is to play solid tag, thus refusing to pay your opponent off. The counter to a retarded lag strategy otoh is probably tight-passive, as you can just basically rely on the lagtard shoving every hand and you can call in behind with good odds to get big pots.
 
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kanselau

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mmm... I wouldn't think so. I'd think the counter to a solid lag strategy is to play solid tag, thus refusing to pay your opponent off. The counter to a retarded lag strategy otoh is probably tight-passive, as you can just basically rely on the lagtard shoving every hand and you can call in behind with good odds to get big pots.
Totally agree and well said , although when you get a LAG who is constantly stealing your blinds or 3 betting your every raise , you must combat this by being more agressive then they are , 4 betting and re stealing their steals. I love the tight passive against the hyper LAGS they will virtually do all the betting for you.
A note about the books , especialy the older ones like Harringtons , they will give you an excellent foundation on the game , but you will need to step out of the norm to become a winning player in todays game.
 
dirtyoldog

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yes i agree let them dig there own whole.i love play with peaple like that .its like they get a great hand every single time and every card that comes just makes there hand that much better. till you call and they have 59 os with no pair or anything:withstupi
 
IntenseHeat

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The thing about these unorthodox players is that everyone assumes that they are LAGtards just hurling chips around. This isn't necessarily the case. Remember when Patrik Antonius utilized an unorthodox style during the wsop a few years back? He seemed to be raising pre-flop with anything. When your quality hand missed the flop and he fired a c-bet, there was no way to know if he hit because it was just about impossible to put him on a hand. He could have anything.

What makes these guys good is knowing when to lay a hand down and knowing when to keep putting the pressure on. If they see that you've been playing tight, then they know a you probably missed the flop when a bunch of small cards hit. When you call on the flop, they know it's likely that you're hoping to hit an overcard. When one doesn't come, they keep firing. And with each street, as the pot increases, so does the size of their bets. It becomes harder and harder to make those calls, counting on hitting one of those overs, knowing that this guys range is wide enough to have hit any card on the board already.

I think the key to playing against these guys is to open your range up slightly. You don't need try to outLAG them, especially if you're not comfortable playing that kind of style. And when I say open your range up slightly, I mean against this particular player. I'm not saying you should be playing bingo against half the table. If someone else wants to mix it up with this guy, get out of the way and let him do it. Just because you're including more hands in your range doesn't mean that you have to play them every time you get them or from every position.

One thing I do against these players is to defend my blinds a little more strenuously than I might otherwise. Who says their random two cards are gonna be better than my random two cards. Let's play. I will definitely play back at these players pre-flop when I'm dealt hands in my normal raising range. Normally I wouldn't play hands that I wouldn't be willing to raise with. These hands are now good for a 3-bet against this particular player.

And switch it up. Don't become predictable. For the most part you want to be playing fit or fold. If you don't flop it, drop it, unless you pick up a good draw like an open ender or a flush draw. If you hit and are first to act, try check raising. See if that tames his aggression any. Once it does, start leading out when you hit. Try to make him pay if you can, but don't let him see any cards for free. Change it up from time to keep him off balance. Before long, he'll be the one playing tight.
 
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Aleksei

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Totally agree and well said , although when you get a LAG who is constantly stealing your blinds or 3 betting your every raise , you must combat this by being more agressive then they are , 4 betting and re stealing their steals.
Well yeah, that's why I specified you need TAG rather than TPS to counter a solid LAG strategy. Generally speaking a good laggy player will try to bluff you when their read of you tells them they can get away with it, so to call bs and 4-bet you need at least a good bluffcatcher. If they get a whiff that you're trying to resteal with air they'll just 5-bet jam and scare you off. I have a friend (who is a winning player at NL50 No Limit and NL500 Fixed Limit and PLO) who's quite fond of that move.

Against a stupid lag player establishing dominance won't do anything. They don't care, usually don't notice. So, you just play your hands for value and call or raise behind.
 
cheapseats76

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I think we all have our own style and no person plays exactly like the book says to. I think being patient is the most important skill to master when playing. I found that when players, myself inc. can at times try to force cards when they lose to a hand that shouldn't be played in the first place. I try to bluff but not to much because then you will get caught with your hand in the cookie jar.
 
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