I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

May I ask, what is a “small ball”? Small bet?

Small Ball is the idea of playing lots of small pots in position, for example calling raises very wide in late position with deep stacks. You then float the flop a lot if your opponent c-bets and look to pressure him on the late streets.

It's a good strategy so long as:

Stacks are deep
You feel very comfortable playing post-flop
You're playing against opponents capable of folding

On this last point, if you're in game where many players usually see the flop, or where players don't fold much postflop, then smallball isn't the best approach. Instead you want to play stronger hands and make your money value-betting them.

Originally Posted by jadaminato

I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

Its good strategy for deep stacked, bigger buyin tournament, but don't try to use it on micro, low stakes online tournaments!!!!

It’s a great strategy imo. Helps prevent variance by a great deal.

Don't believe Daniel for a minute,,,, he lets everyone think he's playing "small ball" poker just so he gets paid-off at his table,,,, lol,,,, (think about it)

what works for one may not work for others

Im think is more one valid strategy for less variance.In some moments i mixed my game incorporated this strategy.

Yes, agreed that it is only really for deep stacked and slow structured tourneys, and only when others at the table will allow it. If you have a few very aggressive players at the table that are going to 3 and 4 bet after your small ball call or raise, it can just seem weak. Sometimes you need to fight aggression with aggression.

Great strategy for deep stacked tourney.

It really hammers home the value of position. Like others have said, you need a deeper stack and opponents that think a little. You have to scare them by your c-bet call. then when they slow down you crank up the presuure by betting turn. your opponenet has to realize if they call on turn they will likely face a large river bet.

I also like it because I tend to play non-made hands like AK AQ AJ better by keeping the pot smaller allowing me to get to turn and river cheaper and so I can affordably make plays for those pots even if I have completely wiffed on the board.

Originally Posted by jadaminato

I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

like others mentioned, it's nice to Play some small ball in the very early stages. just don't gamble to much and try to avoid Building a big pot with a marginal Holding
it also Needs more post flop skills. so if you are unsure About how to Play certain Hands, you better fold them and wait for your premium Hands.

Originally Posted by LeeCallaghan

May I ask, what is a “small ball”? Small bet?

just Google 'small ball vs Long ball poker'
you will find some interesting concepts and articles About it.
in a nutshell it's About either playing a lot of Hands for smaller pots or your premium Hands for big pots.

The small ball theory is great when you can see flops cheap and hit hands. Problems arise when you have very loose callers that derail that plan when either you get a piece of that flop or hit nothing.

I don't think that Daniel really implemented small-ball all that much and it seems he abandoned it completely once GTO started sucking all the air in the room because suddenly any and all exploitative play was out of fashion.

The way I see it, you maximize your edge and minimize your weaknesses. Small-ball seems to want to level off your edge in exchange for leveling off some variance. Seems a little like kitchen table poker with buddies that you want to keep playing with which means no one is really looking to push any edge for fear of busting someone and losing their company for the rest of the night. It's passive poker for those who enjoy the game more than they enjoy winning money.

My verdict: Fad

Depend on the table/players but Daniel is a genuis

Originally Posted by jadaminato

I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

First - I am always impressed by how well this style works for Daniel.

Pro - keep applying small amounts of pressure and players feel more compelled to fold

Con - small pots - Like some posters have stated - this style works well when deep stacked

I don't think this style works particularly well in live dailies that are typically turbos (20-min blinds).

But it is an essential tool to have in your poker tool-kit no matter what the format.

You should try to emulate it and see how it works for you.

Good luck!

When I started playing to play this strategy, it is very quickly out of the tournament.

I've been watching videos of Daniel Negreanu and I came to two conclusions: first, "small ball" would work only at tables with professional players, able to understand what happens at the table and not go crazy with a high pair. And second, I think that much of his strategy is based on his reputation. People are really able to fold anything when he bets.

Originally Posted by jadaminato

I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

If this strategy is successful, then this strategy works.

I think that this strategy doesn't as well as it did a few years ago. You have to keep in mind that poker continually evolves and players adapt.

Right now, when I notice somebody with a high vpip making small stabs, I immediately start raising 100% of their c-bets. Small ball poker is somewhat exploitable in that sense.

Now Daniel is a great player, so you wouldn't be able to outplay him that easily. But your general I-read-Daniels-book-now-I-play-small-ball crowd is another story.

My tip is: look at trends... when everybody is jumping on the bandwagon, start doing the opposite.

Originally Posted by jadaminato

I have been reading Daniel Negreanu's book, "Power Hold'em Strategy" and I found the strategy of "Small ball" very interesting. But I would like to hear the opinion of someone who applies it or has used it.

I heard mention at the end found it very interesting that kind of strategy is very good to control pot.

Small balls works great when your not expecting to make large stack from cards like AK, AQ, & so on because the table is playing too safe. The mind simply looks for fooling the opposition with smaller cards. Earlier posts claims of the system working in deep stack is not true, it works in big tournament (Sunday millions) where the chip stack starts of from 10K, just a simple double up may be needed.

Its basically just a word for LAG and using smaller bet sizes in many situations. Back then many players pottet the flop with top pair on a dry board. But today people talk about “downbetting”, so that part has definitely become mainstream. And as others have said, not everyone will let you get away with playing to many hands, so be carefull about the LAG part, especially if you play online or dont have Daniels reading abilities.

Negranu has ben a long time favourite player of mine because of his play style and believe it or not its always been small ball from day one but that does not mean that any style should be favoured against another.
If you are unable to adjust your own play style to cope with the small balls and the big balls (pardon the expression) you need more practice as only practice will make you better.
You could start a tournament and have 8 small ballers against you and get into a rhythm of chipping away at their chips and then move to a new table and find the complete opposite in your opponents. If you continue your play in the same manner, guess what, your out in no time. If you adjust accordingly and vary your style of play with every player change on your table you are a winner

What do I think about a small ball strategy? Probably the same feelings I have towards a Phillips head screwdriver. It's a great tool when I need a Phillips head screwdriver.

Originally Posted by xy23

It’s a great strategy imo. Helps prevent variance by a great deal.

I agree that it is a great strategy to employ in deep stack tournaments.

Well Daniel has definitely increased his chances by using the strategy. One can conclude that there is merit to the approach from his success. The strategy is meant to minimize your losses and get a lot of action at the table. You would still have to be selective with the hands chosen to play and let us not forget the importance of reading people. Daniel has a great nose for that.

My only problem with playing small ball is that the chances of getting out drawn is great since many do not fold to small bets. Every strategy has its upsides and downsides. Just have to learn the best spots to use them.

I used small ball on some occasions and even got some early success. But after a while I started to consider it very risky as it is a strategy that can be broken easily with a re-raise if you do not know how to do it.
But Negreanu is the guy, he knows a lot

Originally Posted by terryk

Don't believe Daniel for a minute,,,, he lets everyone think he's playing "small ball" poker just so he gets paid-off at his table,,,, lol,,,, (think about it)

I don't believe anything the pro's say. In fact if they say 1 thing u should probably do the other. although if your deep stacked and catching a few hands and can win some at showdown. This can work very well and lead to many steals as well just have to know when your beat or maybe even fold just because you could be beaten. It really helps in online games where i'm catching on a lot of hands i wouldn't normally play and missing with the big guns.

Great as part of your game. Keep in mind, good opponents will adjust if they know you over use it.

I have never quite fully understood tbh...could someone explain to me what's the philosophy behind it.

It's not going to work for online poker.

Originally Posted by Geyomobama

I have never quite fully understood tbh...could someone explain to me what's the philosophy behind it.

The only problem with the Small Ball style is high volatility. The player watches a lot of flops and makes a lot of difficult decisions. You can save money in some hand, but you can also lose money due to the large number of hands being played.

I can see it working 1 on 1, but in online tournament play, there are to many callers for it to work.