Adjusting your basic strategy to game conditions.

Adjusting your basic strategy to game conditions.
By Rolf Slotboom

In some of my articles about pot-limit poker, I have written about the optimum strategy to beat most games. I advocated a tight but aggressive strategy and stressed the importance of having more chips on the table than any other player (especially the ones you expect to make money from). For the past couple of months I have been playing pot-limit Omaha in Vienna, Austria. Compared to the places I usually play, the ante pressure is relatively low.

The game is ten-handed and there is only one blind (usually, pot-limit poker is played nine-handed with three blinds). Since playing extremely tight gets rewarded in a structure like this, this is just what I've done. I also decided to buy in for the minimum when I started playing rather than for my usual large amount.

Because of the game conditions over here (low ante, negligible rake, people buying in for the minimum all the time until they are up -in which case they leave, or are broke -in which case they have to leave, lots of calling but not much raising before the flop, and in general rather passive and predictable play), I found it better strategy to build my stack than to buy in for a large sum.

In most articles, I describe how to play the game with a big stack, facing other big stacks. Today, I will give a few suggestions how to build your stack, after having bought in for the minimum.

About rake, ante structure and stack size.

Most of the time I play poker in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Over there the pot-limit Omaha game is nine-handed, there are three blinds ($4-4-8), the minimum buy in is $400 and the rake is relatively high (5%, max. rake $20). Under these conditions I play very tight, but when involved I try to build a monster pot (by winning small pots only it's almost impossible to beat the rake).

Buying in for the minimum isn't a good strategy here: it's hard to double or triple your stack when the ante pressure is relatively high (just one round of play costs $20, or 5% of the minimum buy-in) and the effective rake is at its peak in small pots, but significantly smaller when the pots get bigger than a certain amount ($400). If you're a fairly good player, the best strategy here is to buy in for a healthy sum and try to break the other large stacks in a monster pot. Most of the time I only play three or four hands an evening. If I win two of them I figure to make a nice profit, but if I don't a big loss is possible. That is, the swings can be huge.

As my girlfriend got the offer to work as a dealer in Vienna, Austria this winter, I left Amsterdam to stay there with her. Vienna can be considered Europe's poker capitol. There are eight 24-hours casinos or card rooms where the game is spread. Most of the time low-limit poker is being offered, with an expensive rake plus money taken out of the pot for jackpots, high hands etc.

It's pretty hard to beat those games, or rather they don't offer enough expectation to the serious player who makes his living out of the game. A few pot-limit games are also being offered, however. No jackpot drops are taken here. The rake is pretty easy to overcome and the players are rather inexperienced and thus play very loose, although the ante pressure is low. In games like these, buying in for the minimum can be a good strategy. Since the blinds don't affect your stack size a lot and the impact of the rake is negligible, it can be good strategy to try to build your stack by winning some large multi-way pots with your premium hands. People will give you action anyway, your small stack being no real threat to them.

Of course, it's not easy to win a five- or six-way pot. But when you stick to playing premium hands and try to go all-in before the flop, you're in good shape. That is, you might lose one or two hands playing like this, but when you do win, you might be able to win three or four times your initial buy-in. You've got to be very patient. You must have the discipline to fold for hours and still be able to get some action when you do play (plus you've got to be immune to people criticizing your ultra-tight play). Of course, when you've finally won that first pot, you can't keep using the same strategy you used when you were short-stacked. What are the differences?

Short-stacked strategy (minimum buy-in):

• Play very tight.
  
• Never make the first raise before the flop, but try to re-raise a raiser to get maximum value out of your premium hand.
  
• Stick to high pair- and big cards (suited) hands.
  
  

With a medium stack (after having won the first pot):

• Play very tight.
  
• Play your position more.
  
• Whenever you play, always come in for a small raise (also with hands like 9876) to avoid giving away information about your hand. Also, when somebody re-raises you when you've got a premium hand and by re-raising again you can get yourself all-in (or close to it), you might win the pot right away or play heads up, all-in with a hand that figures to be best. Don't use the limp / re-raise strategy with a medium stack when you've got aces. Re-raising a raiser will only get a small percentage of your stack in, thus giving your opponent implied odds.
  
• Play the rundown hands also (especially in position), even the small rundowns.
  
• Use the check-raise a lot, especially when you flop big draws (semi-bluff all-in raise) or have a multi-way hand. For example: two pair + straight- and flush draw or overpair + nut-flush draw, when you think there's no set out there.

With a big stack (after having won the second pot as well):

• Play very tight.
  
• Avoid confrontations with other big stacks when out of position.
  
• Make sure your big-pair hands are quality hands. That is, avoid playing hands like KKJ7 off-suit to just try to flop a king.
  
• Be careful with the small rundown hands. When the money is deep, you might not be able to go all-in on the turn when the board is favorable. Playing against a big stack also when the river might make a new nuts possible (higher straight / flush / full) will give your opponent the chance to bluff you out of the pot when your hand is in fact still good, or you might decide to pay him off when the river has made his hand.
  
• On the flop, bet out (rather than going for the check-raise) with your good hands, and your good draws as well. Try to get someone to play back at you, so you might be able to build a monster pot on the flop with a hand that figures to be the favorite. Do go for the check-raise on the turn, when you're up against an aggressive player who doesn't respect a check by you. Don't make the mistake of getting half of your stack in on the turn when there are straight- and flush draws everywhere (for example, the board is Ts 7d 5s 2d and you've got wired tens). Since any good player will bet the pot on the river (whether he has made his hand or not), because he knows what you have, but you don't know his hand. If you can check-raise all-in on the turn (having the nuts, taking away your opponent's implied odds) you might still lose the hand if you get called, but at least you've gotten your money in as the favorite.
  
• When there are some experienced and highly aggressive players in the game with big stacks also, you should quit! Playing pot-limit poker requires a lot more skill than playing limit poker. Playing a large stack in pot-limit a lot more skill than playing a short stack.
  

Some final words.

Using the strategies I described gave me some very good results here. I had the best month out of my career, although the limits I've played here are a lot smaller than I usually play. This having said, playing like this requires a lot of discipline and the ability to recognize the situation you're in, knowing if your kings are good enough to re-raise before the flop or require a pass etc. When the opposition is rather weak, you might as well decide to use your normal strategy of buying in for a lot of chips to try to win someone's entire stack, rather than to try to build your own stack gradually.

I have always considered some of my main strengths to be my patience, my discipline, my image (I somehow manage to get a lot of action when I'm involved with my premium hands and when I'm only semi-bluffing, I seem to be able to make people lay down their hands), and my ability to handle a short or medium stack. It can be tough to sit there for hours with just a few chips in front of you. If you're the kind of player whose ego gets harmed when people see you sitting at the table with a short stack only, then this strategy is not for you. But then again, if you're the kind of player who lets ego take over, rather than try to find the optimum strategy to beat the game you're in, then playing poker for a living is not for you.

Take care, you guys, and good luck.