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TIPS FROM THE PROS
Huckleberry Seed
April 24, 2006
I'm best known in the poker world for my
tournament success. I've won four World
Series of Poker bracelets, including the
World Championship in 1996. With as much
success as I've had in tournaments, however,
I still prefer to spend most of my time in
cash games. If I were to limit myself to
tournaments, I'd miss out on some of poker's
most interesting aspects.
In tournaments, you're constantly moving.
The tournament director may move you so that
he can balance tables, or your table may
break. So, even if you've been attentive to
your opponents' tendencies, there's a good
chance that you won't be able to exploit the
information you've gained. In a cash game,
however, you have far more time with a set
of players. When I play a cash game in a
casino, I might spend eight, 10, or 12 hours
with the same group, so I have a longer time
to study my opponents and exploit their
weaknesses. If I'm going to be playing with
the same people for hours, I can create a
table image that will benefit me over the
course of my session. For example, when I
first enter a game, I might make a series of
unprofitable plays - some strange bets or
bluffs. These plays may lose me a little bit
of money, but they affect how everyone
thinks of me for the rest of the session.
Even if I shift to a more solid mode of
play, some players will retain the idea that
I'm a nut case. In a tip I provided a few
weeks ago, I showed how developing this sort
of table image can be used to great effect
by representing a bluff.
In a tournament, however, it's tough to
profit from that kind of persona. You can
spend an hour getting everyone to believe
you're a maniac only to be moved to a table
of complete strangers. At that point, your
stack will be decimated and your image will
have disappeared.
In cash games, you also have the chance
to track your opponents' mood shifts over
time. At various points in a session, a
player may get tired, frustrated or just go
on tilt. If you're attuned to your
opponents' moods, you'll find opportunities
to profit from their weakened states. In a
tournament, you rarely get a chance to take
advantage of someone else's tilt. Usually,
the hand that gets a player steaming also
busts them from the tournament.
While tournaments can provide for some great
action, playing them exclusively can limit
your game. By branching out and playing cash
games, you'll develop a completely different
set of poker skills and be able to explore
some of the more interesting psychological
aspects of the game.
Huckleberry Seed |
