how do you know when you've found your style?

[ninjareal]

Hi all , I posted this in tournaments since i feel cash games are a bit different, that is we may have 2 different styles each (cash vs tourney).
I have tried playing different "styles" depending on different formats of tournament, and I found that changing style wasn't as strong as my normal play (rhythm/style/whatever we call it).
And that my normal style seemed way better , does this mean I've found my style ? How do we know, and how do we know it's good enough? Is there a way to know when "we've found our style" ?
I feel it's important as i was reading the freeroll thread and thought that i was "protected" from getting bad habits from freerolls because of my "style",
Futhermore do bad results (unlucky perhaps,tournament structure ) cause people to doubt their style too early?
Consequently making them change their style, tighten up and perhaps even doubt their poker skill?
For myself, keeping true too my "normal style" (haha who knows it maybe totally loser style) has allowed me to do well without being frustrating,
A long post, but hope some have ideas on the subject ....
Thanks

 

[Dailon Arroyo Blandon]

Playing tournaments or cash tables ... are two different types of game even if it is the same poker ... therefore there must be two different game strategies ... now ... I think that after being used in Consistently form a game strategy for a certain period ... you could already say that you have a game style ..!

 

[drejva11]

Just play and try more and more, learning poker is a long- term game.

 

[terryk]

I think it might be a mistake to think in terms of "my style" of poker,,,sometimes you have to adapt to the cards you're getting and play different,,,also to should be adapting to your opponents.All this comes with experience,,,,keep playing until you feel comfortable playing all styles. Hope this helps,,,, Cheers!

 

[Dejange]

For mtt's, it is enough to find yourself on top of a Leaderboard here at CC
That means your style is killing at the moment :top:

 

[mariale_1990]

I do not know if I have a style of play, but I think I'm adapting to the different situations that occur in the tournaments, especially when the readings of the players are different

 

[Sorin Iliescu]

Afaik, there are only 2 winning styles, lag and tag, but a good player must switch between the two. If you can't, you might lose money; so, there might not even exist a "good" personal style

 

[Rolco]

You should focus on your understanding of the game rather than a 'style' as everyone has to make regular adjustments during any game.

 

[LuisBoaC]

I agree that sticking to one style is not the best plan. Any observant opponents will work out what you're doing and how to beat you. You want to be that observant player, whilst thinking about your own table image (you may be playing TAG but if you only get great cards you'll appear LAG, for example) and adjust your play accordingly.

 

[ninjareal]

You want to be that observant player, whilst thinking about your own table image (you may be playing TAG but if you only get great cards you'll appear LAG, for example) and adjust your play accordingly.

Hi, yes this is what i do with my game to a large extent, i see other players i know playing certain hands differently than i would however, so that's what I thought was "style" , in this, may mean hand range, and more importantly the value each of us places on our range on any given situation depending on the circumstances, (i know a long sentence, but makes sense to me)
A friend I've seen playing AQ for example, very aggressively at what i think is wrong timing and wrong hand/betting value (over valuing if you like) , is this what we can call style? Or is this "skill" ,
Basically the values we asign our ranges ,
Also consider players that
Don't like folding
Like 3 betting
And similar concepts , a player could be tag but not like folding, or lag and not like folding, or tag and always play back at you or lag etc.... we can go on and on, some may have mentioned on tv "you'll find your game" ... not yet sure if this is true or not, but my gut tells me we can't all "play the same" in order to be successful, to the contrary, most poker seems to day do opposite to opponents or what they're expecting to be successful,
Fun topic , style, strength, skill , (a lot of S's) are these all one element in poker ? Are they all relevant? I wish i knew the answer , and at times only once we're successful players do we "know"

 

[TeUnit]

I dont really think you should have a "fixed style", think you should really adapt to the table, the tourney, and the format.

 

[wlad20082009]

No , I don't understand how you can play your style . There is a dependence on the type of game , on whether you go card and so on . On any account for adjust to .

 

[Dmytro Lysyuk]

I just played, I watched a variety of video tutorials about poker, watched the game of professional players, and constantly improved.

 

[Tatomircg]

Hi all , I posted this in tournaments since i feel cash games are a bit different, that is we may have 2 different styles each (cash vs tourney).
I have tried playing different "styles" depending on different formats of tournament, and I found that changing style wasn't as strong as my normal play (rhythm/style/whatever we call it).
And that my normal style seemed way better , does this mean I've found my style ? How do we know, and how do we know it's good enough? Is there a way to know when "we've found our style" ?
I feel it's important as i was reading the freeroll thread and thought that i was "protected" from getting bad habits from freerolls because of my "style",
Futhermore do bad results (unlucky perhaps,tournament structure ) cause people to doubt their style too early?
Consequently making them change their style, tighten up and perhaps even doubt their poker skill?
For myself, keeping true too my "normal style" (haha who knows it maybe totally loser style) has allowed me to do well without being frustrating,
A long post, but hope some have ideas on the subject ....
Thanks

yes ...cash and tournaments have 2 different styles off play....all good players now that......at tournament u have to calculate ur chips...very important.....at cash....u can do whatever u want.....the blinds don t go up never

 

[LuisBoaC]

... but my gut tells me we can't all "play the same" in order to be successful...

Totally agree. For this reason I avoid resources that just teach you what moves to make in certain situations. I look, instead, for resources that teach me what thought/decision processes I should employ. I find books the best for this but that's just me.
Famous mathematician John Nash (immortalised by Russell Crowe in the film A Beautiful Mind) published a theory (Nash equilibrium). I don't claim to fully understand it but I believe it's basically what you're saying here (if everyone plays the same no-one profits in the long-run) and the basis for the independent chip model. If anyone could tell me how right/wrong I am here or explain it better I'd be very pleased to read it!

 

[2Rockets2]

Style

I would say its not good to have 1 style you need to beable to change it up depending on your situation and the game you are in cash vs tournament is an example but if you are 3 handed you have to change or you will be playing face up and can be easily exploited

 

[ninjareal]

Hi all , I hear the "play according to the table " , and I too advocate this play, agreed, i still feel style comes into it, for example. ...
(Tight table , I either play tight as well, option 1 , or loosen up and play the contrary statergy option 2, we're agreeing so far yes? Now in option 1 lets say no matter how i play i will be stubborn quite a bit "no free cake", "no simple folds" " possibly looking for hero calls" ... i have heard wiffs that this is called a "sticky" player, (i could be wrong ) my point is that in either option 1 or 2 the player can have this "sticky " style no matter whether playing loose, tight, lucky draw options .. . Maybe another style could be "conventional " style, raises 3bb pre, classic cbet, and if he has it bet all streets , no cutesey bets etc .... an up and down "classic" style if you will, again whether in option 1 or 2 the style should still remain yes?
I see now that I've said the above that most of us may not have a "style" , i surely don't consider myself a "sticky" or " conventional " player , maybe a mixture ..... hard to know, while we're on it, how do we quantify poker strength or skill? Is it the results one has gotten? Or the "joy" (heavy sarcasm" when we find this strong player on our left?
Why then do we consider them strong? Are they stubborn? When you try to steal on the button or in sb etc they never fold and possibly 3bet ? "No free cake" .... no check check anywhere on the board ? Surely a "weak" player could simply do all those things yes?
Or is strength their hand range ? Can't be though as people like "durrr" & "grinder" surely have an "open" range yes? Again , a "weak" player can do these things too right?
Haha sometimes these things seem too theoretical and we say "lets just play poker" , easy enough in fact, but maybe "treading water " till we have a "break through " ,

 

[okeedokalee]

The style you play is dependent on how the table opposition play.
If the table are all tight, play LAG until you meet resistance, then tighten your game and note the player who resisted for future reference. You may have to tighten against that Villain.
If the table is mostly LAGs, only play bigger pairs and BWs pre-flop. They will attack you therefore you have to be stronger. They are stronger players because you never know what they have. They may showdown a weak hand or a strong one.
The tight players are weak because most times they will fold to your aggression and if they resist you can assume they have a strong hand or else they would have given up when you bet the hand.
Calling stations are another problem, they find it hard to fold and are the Villians who can end up rivering you after calling pre-flop with trash and refusing to fold.
Be prepared to adjust your "style" to each situation presented to you.

https://www.khanacademy.org/economi...odal/v/prisoners-dilemma-and-nash-equilibrium

https://www.khanacademy.org/economi...tition-topic/modal/v/more-on-nash-equilibrium

 

[ninjareal]

Hi, nice advice everyone, including my fellow bees! Yes style and types of play are constantly on my mind whilst playing,
I have been thinking on this thread , after reading peoples ideas etc,
How then do we determine "strength "?
For example between 2 LAG players,
How do we "measure " or judge the difference between them?
It can't be "range" since both will be operating on the same system yes?

 

[duson]

The best style you can have is a fluid one. Your play should be affected by your stack, your tables stacks, the blinds, are you ITM, are you close to a ladder, and a whole other set of things that you have to learn over time. Trying to put yourself into one specific style will just make you predictable and less dangerous over time unless you adapt.