Bug's Poker Tip #46

Tight is Right

Far, far too many beginners play far, far too many poker hands. And yes, I know why this is true--I've come to play cards, dammit, so I'm gonna play my damn cards!--but this is a major leak. Said simply, you should play only a small fraction of the hands dealt to you, especially in early position and from the blinds. Something like 5-10% in early position, increasing to somewhere around 20-25% in late position at a standard full-ring table. Everything else should be folded-- somewhere around 80-85% of the hands you see. Yes, four out of five hands or more. And yes, that's a lot of hands, and yes, it may be a little boring at first to fold far more hands than you play, but it's one of the fundamental secrets the pro's employ to making money at this game. If you play too many hands, you will leak away your profits. Drip, drip, drip.

Think of it this way, when you're deciding to play a hand dealt to you, you're essentially deciding to pick a fight and/or join one already in motion. Wouldn't you want a high-quality weapon in hand when you jump into the fray of battle? As the Guru used to preach, "don't bring a knife to a sword fight." Isn't it better to battle from the high ground, where your card strength gives you an inherent advantage over the opposition, than face an up-hill slog holding inferior cards? Remember, two new cards are coming your way in just a few ticks of the clock. Pick your battles with the strong cards, and toss all the rest.

A good technique to train yourself to play a Tight-is-Right game is to implement the so-called raise-or-fold question in your preflop decision process. You literally ask yourself on every single hand dealt to you, "Should I raise this hand in this situation?" If the answer is "no" (which it will be most of the time), you should just muck the cards and move on. I've actually done training sessions with students where they are literally not allowed to call preflop with any hand. Of course this is not a long-term strategy during normal play, as there are definitely times to call preflop in poker (such as when you're dealt a small or medium pocket pair in late position and are facing an EP open-raise and are getting the right implied odds to set-mine) but for purposes of training, this kind of "raise-or-fold" technique can be helpful-- and enlightening. I wish I had a nickle for every time a student forced to play this way said something like, "Damn, I want to play this hand! But I know I shouldn't. Sigh. Fold..."

So, ask yourself: Do you want to play your cards, or do you want to make money? Only you can answer this for yourself, but I know what my own response is-- I like the green stuff. And raking in chips turns out to be not so boring after all.

All-in for now...

-Bug

Bug's Poker Tip #31

Be a Folding Polar Bear

When animals--and almost all normal people--face a physical threat, their bodies go rigid. From a physiological standpoint it's not efficient, but it's the general rule. Polar bears are the exception. They can lie in wait, perfectly relaxed, for two hours without once releasing the heightened readiness of [waiting for a seal to appear.] 

-Peter Hoeg, Smilla's Sense of Snow

There is interaction if there is a call for it, no interaction if there is no call for it.

-Zen Master Yangshan

You've been folding a lot. You sat down an hour ago, the table is full of rich fish giving their money away, and all you have to show for your time is a slow dribbling away of your stack to the blinds. Everybody except you has gotten playable cards. Your butt is numb. Your mind is starting to wander. You're bored silly*. You're starting to think that maybe it's time you got in there and started playing hands again.... Bzzzzt! Folks, this is not reason enough. Keep folding. Yes, there is a poker axiom that says action begets action, and that you're less likely to get paid if your opponents see you as a nit, but when you're seriously card dead in a low- or mid-stakes cash game, 99 times out of 100, it's better to just wait for a spot than try to force the action. Just because you folded 99 times in a row, doesn't mean you shouldn't also fold the next ninety-nine. Poker is a game of patience, of waiting for plus-EV opportunities, of picking your spots-- and then pouncing like a hungry polar bear. Or, as Larry Phillips says in Zen and the Art of Poker, "Some players think there is some kind of statute of limitations on folding. After two hours, you've paid your dues-- you've proven that you're a disciplined player. So now you've earned the right to play again, right? Nope. Keep folding." 'Nuff said.

All-in for now...

-Bug

*You should never be bored in a poker game, even if you're a folding fanatic. When you're not involved in a poker hand, you should be paying attention to the action at the table, putting players on their hands, figuring out who's tilting, who's feeling cocky, who is ready to leave, who is looking for action... and so on. If you're bored at a poker table, you're doing something seriously wrong.