Action Plan (At The Tables)

In my last post, I described five very large cogs in the machine that should be well-oiled and kept turning at all times. I believe that any self-respecting poker player who earns a regular living from the game should be monitoring these areas continually. They are essentially, the external part of the game that players should work on away from the table in order to help give them that all-important edge while at the table.

While at the live poker table there are so many different variables occuring that it's practically impossible to enumerate them all. However, recurring scenarios are so common and repeatedly crop up time and time again that certain rules or guides can be applied almost without fail. In many respects, these rules and guides (or dos and don'ts) are obvious, yet they are so often broken by the recreational and average players that they become precisely the main reason why these players are average and recreational in the first place - and why they'll remain so for years to come. (See The Pitcher Plant analogy in my next post.)

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The 5 Dos

Do...

... play at the right time. A meta-game leak whereby players choose to play while fatigued or jaded resulting in tired poker. That needs to be the reserve of the wannabes or casual and recreational players. 

... quit at the right time. Never play when you find yourself playing sub-optimal poker. Never play loose or too many hands to try to "catch-up" during a stuck session. Just leave! 

... think the hand through and go with your read. Put the other fella on a hand and make the right decision! Go with a move if it's not an "ABC" line but has a high chance of working.

... Leave tough tables. Been playing for 30 minutes and struggling to figure out where the money is going to come from? Get up and leave; it's probably your best move.  

... value-bet, value-bet, value-bet. Live cash-game poker is not really about trapping, it's about getting the money in with your good hands and getting paid off. Don't let them go lightly; get them to pay you!

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The 5 Don'ts

Don't...

... forget that most money comes from the fish. Your money generally comes from the weak players. Good players don't tend to pay you off; that's why they're "good." 

... make marginal calls versus short-stackers.  Never give the parasites the implied odds they're looking for and never call light preflop. Never pay these leeches off.

... overvalue premium starting hands.  Getting married to KK or AA after being card-dead for fucking hours can be a disaster but should only happen to lesser mortals. As always: play the villain's range and not your hand strength.

... play loose or force the issue when card-dead. Best to default to tight play rather then turning into a spewtard when things are going wrong. Never gamble it up if the action gets a little crazy. Discipline, discipline, discipline.

... call off light on the river when the villain never bluffs. Again, when you're stuck and desperate to turn things around don't get suckered into this one. Put them on a range and don't pay off the passive fish when they hit the board and suddenly actually start betting and raising! 

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Don't...

...play online poker ever again!!   My own little personal one.