The Importance Of Changing Gears In No Limit Texas Holdem
One of the most critical factors of success for a hold ‘em player is the ability to mix up their game and keep their opponents constantly guessing.
If you only raise with big hands then your opponents are going to take note and respect your raises. If you’re constantly raising with any two cards then they’re going to sit back and wait for a spot to trap you for all of your chips, start re-raising you with mediocre holdings, and doing everything that they can to defend against the style that they perceive you to be playing.
Every player generally has a style that they are going to stick to most of the time. One of the more ironic aspects of poker, and hold ‘em in particular, is that often times you will make more money playing the exact opposite of your normal style.
If you’re known as a tight player, and you’ve been folding every hand for the last hour, you’re in a great position to make a few loose late position raises and easily steal some small pots, since any players who have paid attention to you are going to take your raise very seriously.
Alternatively, if you’re known as a loose player and you’ve been raising every other hand for the last hour, you’re going to want to tighten up sometimes. You can slow things down, and use your loose image to get action on your legitimate hands.
The whole point of changing gears is to use your image to your advantage. At a table full of novice players who probably aren’t paying much attention to what you’re doing, it’s a good idea to maintain a tight aggressive style the majority of the time. There’s no sense in trying to be too creative against players who aren’t going to be smart enough to fold or fall for any moves you make.
Tournaments present a whole new set of circumstances. The rising blinds and antis present in tournament play are constantly changing the table dynamics. Generally, you’ll start off with 100 or more times the big blind. When stacks are this deep you can play whatever style you feel is right against your opponents.
When the blinds and antis start to catch up to your stack size, you’re forced to play in a more aggressive manner, no matter what style you normally play. Table image can be a huge part of tournament play as well. Against attentive players, occasionally changing gears and mixing up your play is critical to your success.