Things it took me a while to learn part 22, Poker trends/plays
Over the course of the evolution of tournament poker certain plays have come in and out of style and popularity based on how well known they've become and their effectiveness. In an earlier article I discussed the difference between manipulative and deceptive play and most of these plays fall down on the manipulative side of things as you're often making said play with a pretty narrow range, and it's important for your opponent to not be aware of what your doing in order for the play to work up to it's potential. We'll take a look at what the plays are, how they're used, and what their utility is in the current tournament poker environment.
1. The Stop-n-go:
How it's used: By calling a raise or reraise pre flop out of position with the intention of open shoving the flop.
Current utility: Almost none. The stop-n-go is a highly outdated play though you still see it attempted in low to mid stakes tournaments from time to time, as well as in some live play. The stop-n-go was originally a useful play because people would actually make terrible pre flop calls for 1/3rd of their stack then open shove the flop when they flopped a pair in order to protect their hand. Anyone with half a brain can figure out why nobody should be flat calling 1/3rd of their stack pre simply hoping to flop a pair, and then shove that pair instead of checking to induce a bet to gain value before cramming. I've seen a few rare instances in live poker where I think this move can still be appropriate, but anyone playing mid to high stakes tournaments online should retire it, and likely has way before this article was written.
2. The Squeeze:
How it's used: By making a reraise (be it nominally or all in) after one player raises and another player flat calls behind and the action comes to you.
Current utility: Occasional but increasingly rare. At this point almost everyone (including many recreational live players) is aware of the squeeze and the fact that people can show up very light when doing it. The play used to be more effective when players were more loose and weak and made bad flat calls with no real plan for action behind. However, there are still numerous situations, both live and online (though I think it's a bit better live where people are still making too many bad flat calls pre) where making a light squeeze is the best play because of the players and stacks involved. Additionally, when playing on a table with thinking players you need to have the light squeeze in your arsenal otherwise they can feel confident folding considerable hands to you if you're only reraising in that situation with big hands.
3. The Go and go:
How it's used: A player in late position raises and you reraise out of one of the blinds to an amount that leaves you with roughly a pot sized bet on the flop, which you will shove close to every time (with the exception of flops you absolutely crush.) It is normally done with a good hand that can connect well with the flop in a situation where you don't expect the original raiser to call a shove, though it can be done with some weaker holdings.
Current utility: Moderate online, massive live. There are still many players online, even in HSMTT's who will flat call a reraise for ~30% of effective stacks with too wide a range and no real plan for the flop. In the arena of live play this play still has huge effectiveness as even many professionals still call pre flop reraises far too wide and will wind up having to fold on the flop a ton when it whiffs their hand. However, it's worth noting that this play is essentially useless against most online HSMTT regulars who are fully aware that once you put in roughly 30% of your stack pre flop you are basically never intending on folding.
4. The 4 Bet light:
How it's used: You open raise with a medium or weak strength hand. Someone behind you reraises, and you shove all in while praying to your personal God that you aren't called.
Current utility: Massive live and online, but with the caveat that it needs to be done with considerable selectiveness. If you just start 4 betting light all day every day you are going to wind up being a massive spew. However, at HSMTT's online this is a play that needs to be in your arsenal for the sake of having a balanced range. Otherwise every time you 4 bet all in pre flop your opponents will know you have a range of only quality holdings and can start adjusting their calling range accordingly. This play's effectiveness online and live is often for different reasons. Online most of this plays effectiveness comes from the fact that many players are capable of 3 betting light these days, and in order to prevent yourself from getting run over out of position pre flop you occasionally need to put a foot in someone's ass with the light 4 bet. In live poker, this plays effectiveness is more a result of players making pre flop 3 bets without a real plan for when they are 4 bet, and then talking themselves into folding an overly tight range to your shove. An example I have comes from a 4 bet that actually didn't work during the Aviation clubs 10k Euro buy in event last summer.
A player on my left who was a 35ish French guy was three betting me quite frequently, especially since I was pounding the two overly tight players on his left. During one hand I open raised 98o on the button to about 5000 and he 3 bet me to about 18,000 out of the small blind. I had about 64,000 in my stack and moved all in on him (it's not perfect math wise, as for 4 betting light I prefer to have at least 4 times a persons raise size in my stack, but in live you can shave it a little) and the player in the SB went into the tank for several minutes, seemed to consider folding, then reluctantly called with AQo. Although this 4 bet didn't work the point is still relevant, many players still make 3 bets just hoping you'll either fold or you'll flat call and the hand will play out in some easy and straight forward manner post flop, not really expecting the 4 bet. When you do 4 bet, they won't be sure if you're capable of making light 4 bets, and they'll often talk themselves into folds with hands that should be a snap call (for anyone whose unsure, if you are in the French players seat you should SNAP CALL the AQ, smash it over on the table, then yell "Your dead pal!")
5. The post flop min raise for value with a huge hand:
How it's used: You've got a massive hand that you really want value from. Your opponent makes a bet and you raise the minimum to keep him paying off.
Current utility: Highly opponent dependant, but its use is often mediocre compared to other options. The problem with min raising in a lot of situations is that it alerts your opponent that something is wrong, and since the move is so rarely used as a bluff (especially on the turn and river) people will often quickly give you credit for the big hand that you have. There are some situations against loose opponents who might get away if you make a larger raise where the move becomes more appropriate, but for the most part I'd recommend going with a standard sized raise in most instances. One situation I do often like to use the min raise is when you get the river in a live hand where you likely have the best hand and want to get more value, but know your opponent is very weak and won't pay off a big raise and also won't reshove unless he has a huge hand. An example would look like:
Your stack: 10,000, Big blinds stack: 10,000. Blinds 100/200. You hold 5c4c on the HJ. Big blind is a weak and loose player not capable of advanced bluffs.
Preflop: Folds to you on the HJ, you raise to 600, folds to the BB, BB calls.
Flop: K T 5 rainbow (Pot 1300)
BB checks, you bet 800, BB calls.
Turn: 9 (Pot 2900)
BB checks, you check behind.
River: 4 (Pot 2900)
BB bets 1200.
Here's a spot where min raising to 2400 with the intention of folding to a reraise might be best. Because of the stack sizes and the likely hands that your opponent calls your raise with, making a very small raise here may be optimal against many opponents as they will likely still call you with KQ/KJ/AK but on the times he comes over the top you can feel very confident he has the best hand. If you raise his bet to a normal amount of like 3500-4000 you commit a much larger portion of your stack, put yourself in a gross spot when he shoves, and KJ/KQ/AK will talk themselves into a fold much more often.
6. Stealing UTG:
How it's used: You open with a mediocre hand UTG in a spot where you expect to get considerable respect and often have it folded around.
Current effectiveness: Moderate and highly table dependant. The play has lost a lot of it's utility since it's heyday around 2006 when very few players would suspect you ever had anything but a very big hand when raising UTG. Now everyone at HSMTT's is aware that thinking players are capable of this, and in many cases online guys shove so wide pre that opening up too loose in early position can wind up being a spew. However, it's still a play worth having in your arsenal on tables with thinking players in order to help balance your range, but high use is not recommended. At live tournaments full of straight forward players you can use this play with decent frequency and expect it to work often, so long as you don't have a very aggressive image or have a table full of stations that don't care about what position you're raising from.
That's all for now at the moment, if you want to leave a comment on this article discussing other plays you want to see discussed please do. Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback on how to continue the series, I now have enough ideas for several more articles.