Choosing your level from your depth of knowledge

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 14 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

As you rise through the stakes, the depth of thought and insight steadily rises, with more and more complex decisions and thought processes required to beat the games.

Poker is a game where only a slim part of what is going on is available directly in front of you. Just like the ocean, most of what is going on is actually happening at various levels down below, and understanding what depth you can currently observe and understand is crucial to being able to identify your place in the poker hierarchy and find the most profitable stakes for you.

A great example of this came about in the recent heads up match between Tom 'durrr' Dwan and mystery Swede 'Isilidur1'. This match seemed to have every rail bird suddenly with an astute opinion about each play - 'Dwan is such a fish getting it in with ace king there', 'How could Isildur call with THAT?!?!?' and on and on. The reality of this match is that there are probably about five people on earth (if that) who could watch that match and even have a vague idea what the thought processes and correct plays should be.

These two players are occupying one of the deepest areas of thought and play in poker - and as such, cannot really be analysed well by anyone who does not think this deeply about the game. Compare this to the polar opposite of this match - the very lowest stake cash games available. Here, what is going on is pretty much obvious to anyone with even vague experience with poker. Most players have obvious and easily observable leaks, such as playing too many weak hands or making very poor bet sizes.

In between these two extremes lies all of the other stake games available. As you rise through the stakes, the depth of thought and insight steadily rises, with more and more complex decisions and thought processes required to beat the games.

Take something like analysing a check raise. At the lowest stakes this move nearly always indicates strength - weak players overvalue deception and love 'tricky' moves like this. At the low mid stakes this move starts to become more complex, sometimes used as a bluff depending on the board and the player involved. At the higher mid stakes this move becomes very complex, frequently used as a bluff, balanced well, and taking into account game flow, history, board texture and player type. At the higher stakes, the move becomes largely part of the huge meta game going on at the higher stakes - taking into account all of the same factors as at the high mid stakes but with extra thought processes that are extremely hard to dissect to anyone not in those games.

Most of what goes on in poker is hidden from view. The more you understand about this hidden world, the higher the stake game you will be able to beat. Conversely, if you see games where things are happening that you don't really understand, you probably do not yet possess the skill set to beat the games. Always remember that the higher you rise, the deeper you have to get in poker, and understanding the level you are at is just as important as how you play that level.

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