Isolating.

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 12 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Isolating a player is one of the most effective plays in no limit hold'em. The term 'isolate' is used to describe a situation where you make a raise that gives you a very good chance of playing the pot one on one with the player you are intending to isolate. This play is particularly useful when playing hands that often do not fair well in multi-way pots - such as medium pairs.

Isolation plays are also extremely effective against habitual pre flop callers - the phrase 'So I isolated the limper' is a common one amongst any skilled players discussing strategy. The logic behind this move, and what makes it so effective, is that players who call with a lot of hands pre flop are making a major mistake - they are leaving themselves open to being pushed off the hand by a strong aggressive player behind them.

It is much easier to win a heads up pot than a multi-way one, simply because the hands will not be out there very often. By making isolation plays you will nearly always either: a) win the pot there and then if the player folds pre flop, or b) win the pot on the flop with a continuation bet (due to your opponent missing with their marginal hands so often). Solid, aggressive plays such as this one are the building blocks of a successful hold'em player - you have to be constantly looking for weakness in players and utilising the optimum strategy to take advantage of it.

This play has one major weakness though. If you try and isolate a weak player but find that a third player who has yet to act gets involved you will be in a very difficult position. I have lost count of how many times I have made this play only to see the big or small blind wake up with a monster. Due to isolation plays often making the pot very large relative to stack sizes (this is particularly true when making these plays late in tournaments), you will often be in horrible spots where you will be faced with very difficult choices if someone moves in behind you. It is important in these situations to carefully consider the pot odds - there is no shame in calling with a weak hand if you are getting a great price on it.

These situations are rare enough that you must effectively ignore them. The isolation play is such a strong one that it easily pays for its weakness. The amount of money you win making it, will far outstrip the situations where someone at the table wakes up with a monster. Target weakness, isolate the fishes, and use constant aggression to grind down your opponents.