Poker Articles

Short-Handed Poker: Varying Your Play
by Jason Pohl

"Vary your play." Those three words are like a sacred mantra, chanted down by more authors than I care to visualize. Those three words are treated as gospel by thousands of poker players every day. Because it is said so often and practiced even more, the sanctity of the advice often goes unquestioned. But is it really such a sacred concept after all?

The Losing Psychology

Why do losing players continue to lose? There are only a handful of plausible explanations. Maybe the losing player doesn't care about winning, or they aren't willing to put in the time to learn, or they don't know where to learn. Maybe the losing player fails to observe others, lacks necessary patience, or simply tilts at the first sign of bad luck. To each of these players, the instruction "Vary your play" must sound wonderful. After all, it's a simple concept and easy to implement. It requires little patience, since one can play extra hands in the name of 'variety.' It justifies tilting, explaining those bad raises or calls away. "In any case", the tilter thinks, "I'm just mixing up my play." It is some of the most undemanding advice available in the poker world, because everybody can be "unpredictable," and they don't even really need to know how to play.

There have been multiple networks showing celebrities compete in poker tournaments for their favorite charities. An education in solid poker play this is not, but there is some entertainment value, especially if you enjoy poker for the sake of poker. When they were asked about their style, many of the celebrities stated something to the effect of, "Well, I have no clue what I'm doing, so that will make me really unpredictable. I figure that's a huge advantage." Of course, this sort of logic is flawed (and humorous). But it does give an introspective look into the thought process of many beginning players who feel that "unpredictability" is a "huge advantage."

In this article, we will somewhat debunk the "Vary your play" motto. I will argue that it is an idea that only applies intermittently to specific sets of players. In effect, we will change the slogan to "Vary your play IF…" Figuring out when to vary your play will separate the losing players using unpredictability as an excuse from the winning players using unpredictability as a weapon.

Reflecting the Wrong Image

Let's begin with the fundamental assumption that there is a 'correct' way to play. I believe strongly that there is in fact a correct style, and that style is known as tight/aggressive. In order to be tight and aggressive, a winning player will naturally play tighter than most of their competition, and a winning player will bet, raise, or reraise more effectively than their competition. In addition, the tight/aggressive player will regularly show down winning hands. There is nothing a winning player can do to change these simple truths. And eventually, somebody will notice. But the reality is that most players will in fact never notice. There are several reasons the tight/aggressive player escapes detection.

First, most players are unobservant. Online opponents might play 2 or more tables, read their email, visit their favorite website, or watch TV in the background. There is also a high turnover on most online games, with players changing tables or limits at a whim. Some players show up to play as little as ten minutes before work, errands, or the new episode of their favorite sitcom. Even at live games, most players only notice hands shown down at the end, and even then they might not pay heed unless they were the one losing the pot. Since most pots are won by a high-quality hand, it may not even register as unusual when one player consistently shows down good hands to take down large pots. In fact, such a trend might be taken as evidence of that player's good fortune. Note: You could encourage this point of view by occasionally 'admitting' that the deck is "running your over."

Second, luck will play a role in mixing up one's play. No matter how tight one plays, they will occasionally get streaks of five or more hands where they start with premium holdings. Raising the pot several times in a row could brand a player as loose/aggressive, because few players would suspect that all those consecutive hands were in fact properly played.

Finally, we come to the other underlying problem with loose calls or raises. To affect your image, you must show down your hand. Consider how often a hand like 96s misses the flop. Is it worth "advertising" your phantom loose tendencies if you must make several bad plays to show your hand? Remember, if you consistently take hands too far and bluff too much in the name of "unpredictability", you are no longer playing tight/aggressive. While trying to deceive people into believing you are a loose/aggressive or loose/passive player, you may in fact become one! Even when you finally show down a poor hand, your opponents must notice your play and make a change in how they play against you. Also, if they reason deeply enough to consider that you might play an extra hand to "vary your play," you have lost all advantage. In other words, a player good enough to pay attention could very well be good enough to see through your ruse. A player not good enough to see through your deception may not notice your 'bad play' in the first place.

Earning a Bigger Pot

It is often pointed out that it might be occasionally correct to limp-reraise with pocket Aces, or to raise with T9s from an early position, or a myriad of other plays contrary to standard practice. In fact, such advice is correct in specific circumstances. For example, if one or more players was raising every hand preflop (but not reraising), limping Aces with the intention of reraising might earn additional profit. Or, if the game was exceptionally tight, suited connectors might profit immediately because the chance of stealing the blinds is high (turning a marginal call/fold into a profitable raise). However, in these scenarios, the profit earned by playing the hand unconventionally is immediate. All this proves is that one must adjust their play to the game. The "correct" strategy has changed because there are extreme conditions.

I have no quarrel with the need to adjust one's play to earn as much money as possible, dependent on game conditions. However, if there is no immediate profit earned from a misleading play, then we are back to depending on our opponents' observation skills to earn extra bets later in the session. If a limp-reraise with pocket Aces saves your opponents from making significant mistakes after the flop, the initial profit preflop may not actually increase overall profit. If none of your opponents will give you credit for strength when you raise from early position anyways, why raise with a weak hand to fool them?

Limit poker is a game with finite edges. An opponent's gaffe will result in a relatively small, fixed loss. So, the profit earned when hitting a miracle flop with a substandard hand is far outweighed by the losses incurred when the flop misses or gives the substandard hand a second-best hand. For example, if a player gives up a small bet (or more) five times out of six by limping with 74s in early position, they are going to have an impossible struggle to earn enough when they finally win a pot (while not losing much when second-best). And remember, without trying to make questionable moves, even tight/aggressive players will sometimes lay a bad beat on their opponent or make a play which appears to be incorrect. Most players will not analyze the point of view of the tight/aggressive player, so they will chalk up the bad beat or 'bad reraise' as the play of a flawed but fortunate player.

Two Alternative Forms of Variation

There are alternatives to making inferior moves for the sake of future gains one hopes to earn. One alternative is to adjust to each specific player. I can hear you saying now, "Wait a minute! Wasn't I supposed to be doing that anyways?" The answer is 'Absolutely.' And that is the point. If you play possum (check-call some marginal hands or slowplay big hands) with one opponent because they are repeatedly bluffing, but then you immediately raise against another opponent because they are too tight/passive, then you have just projected two entirely different playing styles to the table. Imagine how confused even an observant opponent must be.

There is another even less complicated option. Change poker rooms, change games, or change limits. In my opinion, one of the greatest assets to a poker player is their anonymity. First of all, most players need zero effort to protect their anonymity. They may not play more than a few hours a week at one or maybe two games at a time. Likely, those players are simply lost in the shuffle. However, if a player competes many hours a week, often at multiple games, then eventually others (especially good, observant players) will recognize them. Their tight/aggressive style will be noted by the better opponents, who will take advantage by avoiding confrontations or making a few extra strong moves saved only for a solid player willing to lay down a good hand.

The solution is simple. Use multiple online sites. There are many online poker rooms that advertise on Poker Pages, including Paradise Poker, Party Poker, Bugsy's Club, True Poker, Palace Poker, Poker Room, Planet Poker, InterCasino Poker, Empire Poker, and Pacific Poker. I have not played at some of these sites, but I have also played at others not listed above. The nearly universal similarities among these sites is that they offer deposit bonuses and regularly have Texas Hold'em games available. Why not hold accounts with multiple sites and multiple handles? You can play as LuckyGuy1000 at one room, but RunningDeuces22 at another. Since you can switch back and forth between the accounts regularly, nobody gets too familiar with your playing style. The same thing applies to live games. If you have multiple options, be inclined to travel to different cardrooms. Occasionally play different limits or games altogether. The only things you need to maintain this variety are a healthy bankroll and some extra hard drive space on your computer...a pretty small price to pay to stay unknown and unpredictable.

Vary Your Play IF...

Of course, sometimes it does pay to vary your play. As the limits increase, the chances your competition will be paying attention increases. At low limits, varying your play is almost pointless, since it is rarely noted, and even if it was, it wouldn't make much of a difference due to the texture of the typical low limit game. At middle and high limits, there might be some value to 'false advertising,' but even then it depends on the length of time one spends at the table and the turnover of players. After all, if you or your opponents will not be playing in an hour, why sacrifice any short-term profit? Varying your play may also become important if you don't have choices for where to play. You might have a weekly home game with some solid players or only one casino in a 150-mile radius. If you are frequently returning to see the same group of players, then projecting a mottled image becomes valuable. Remember, many of the authors who constantly advise to "Vary your play" are in fact facing exactly these two criteria. They play high limits with a relatively small pool of players, and they play a lot. To thrive, they must deceive, confuse, and manipulate their opponents by giving up some short-term loss for the sake of long-term gain. For the rest of us, there is rarely such need.

I leave you with one of the greatest lines in one of the greatest poker movies of all time, The Cincinnati Kid. I will not give away the story, so I cannot offer the full context of this passage. Lancey Howard is a famous professional poker player (i.e. the reigning champion) while the Cincinnati Kid is the up-and-coming young professional poker player trying to become "The Man."

Lancey Howard: Gets down to what it's all about, doesn't it? Making the wrong move at the right time.

Cincinnati Kid: Is that what it's all about?

Lancey Howard: Like life, I guess.

You can email me at Jason@PokerPages.com with any questions, comments, or ideas for future articles. Until next time, good luck!