Sizing players up
Marcus Bateman
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Marcus Bateman /
16 November 2009 /
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Being able to size a player up and work out if they are capable of the more extreme moves in poker is crucial as you hit the higher limits
Poker is a game where it is important that you have as many options as possible, not only in your arsenal, but also being used at a frequency that balances your game and makes you hard to read.
Although factors like this only really come into play at the higher levels (where players become observant enough for these factors to matter), thinking about how it effects your game, and players around you is crucial to playing the mid and high stakes.
A great example of this is big bet bluffing. Some players are just incapable of making big bet bluffs on the turn or river for their whole stack. They have probably been brought up at the low stakes (where never big bet bluffing is a pretty solid strategy), but having graduated to the higher limits, have not readjusted their play, and as a result expose a big flaw in their game.
By making one of the most important segments of their play obvious (big bet plays make a real difference in no limit and pot limit games over the long run), they leave themselves open to constant attack by astute players.
By never big bet bluffing, these players quickly lose out on action with their big hands, except in cooler situations where the money goes in regardless. This makes their life near impossible over the long run, as one of the areas they should be making very large sums from (their big hands), they are never getting any action on, because of not throwing in the odd big bet bluff with a weak hand.
Being able to size a player up and work out if they are capable of the more extreme moves in poker is crucial as you hit the higher limits. Although applicable to making big bluffs, it is just as valid when thinking about big lay downs, or advanced squeeze plays.
Each action in poker at the higher limits has to be balanced, including the more risky, bigger plays. Many players are not capable of this, and identifying them and taking advantage of them is as important as closing up any leaks like this in your own game.
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