 The CRAPSHOOT BIBLES ARE BACK #1
I have been banging my head against the wall for the last couple of days, because I was so proud of myself, I had worked on my game and was winning then I fell back into my old mind trap and was embarrassed about my play…when we develop a change in style, attitude and play we must drill it in our minds and focus on our “new me” so that it becomes second nature to us….changing the ways of automatic responses of the mind is very difficult and must be worked on to the Nth degree. I am writing this post because of what I surmise about the game of NL Holdem and how I changed as well as my downfall away from my “new me”.
You can read all the books that you want and basically they are going to tell you the same thing…it will be stressed on the cards to play and cards not to play, about playing from different positions, check raising, slow playing, aggression, playing weak stacks, how to dominate etc. etc….but none of them is going to discuss what I am about to discuss here.
For those that already know the game read on…for those that don’t, read up on the game first!
Forget about all the fundamentals for now…
NLHE is much more than Fundamentals…NLHE is much more than “Pot Odds”…..NLHE is much more than “Style” etc. etc. Once you learn the game you will find times that you play a situation contrary to everything that you read, what you read is a generality…what you do in a particular situation is what is important and it will change from play to play…there are no hard fast rules to go by. The first three areas of importance are 1.) Timing, 2.) Timing and finally 3.) Timing. In order of importance the next three are 1.) Reading your opponent, 2.) Reading your opponent and 3.) Reading your opponent Your timing and ability to make the right play at the right time is what NLHE is all about. You must also learn the most difficult play in NLHE and that is laying down your hand even if it is a monster if it is going to lose…don’t get caught up in I think he has it, but I will call to see if I am right…most of your chips are lost when there is no reason to lose them….becoming an expert in laying down a losing monster hand is just as valuable as learning your great successful moves.
For those that understand American Football you might appreciate this analogy:
Like what you read, cards to play and plays to make is similar to the plays and the fundamentals in playing football…they are important…but the most important is when to play them…you don’t throw a butt and hook pass to your wide receiver just because it is a good pass play…you call the play because the timing is right…..the previous plays have set it up to be on the very high end of success and right now it should work. Football is a game of doing the unexpected…you run when your opponent is thinking pass, you pass when your opponent is thinking run…well the same is true for NLHE…you cannot be predictable. It drives me berserk when my home team coach calls for runs up the middle because we are ahead and it is a safe way of running out the clock…it is anything but safe, the opponent knows that you are going to call that play and the defense is going to do everything that they can to strip the ball from the running backs hands…I have seen more games that are lost this way…and the same is true in NLHE, when you are predictable, your opponent is going to do everything that he can to strip your stack from you. If it is 3rd and 1 and you always run up the middle in this situation, the defense is going to be ready for you and your chances are not quite as good as if you normally mix up your plays in this situation…a fake up the middle and a 10 yard pass might be the play to call, but again just because it is 3rd and 1 you don’t call the pass play every time…what you do is the unexpected and you mix it up…the same is true in NLHE, you must bluff when your opponent thinks that you have them and bet heavy when your opponent thinks that you are bluffing
This is getting long so I am going to break it up here and will continue with CRAPSHOOT Bibles are back #2 if you are interested in reading it....it should get much more interesting.
Last edited by CRAPSHOOT; 11-06-2005 at 03:33 PM.
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