In poker, the real power lies in commanding the pace and flow of the game. These six tricks will help you control the table and force your opponents to play on your terms.
Isolation Raise More
When you’re at a table where everyone is limping constantly, you need to take that personally. Why do they feel they can limp ahead of you every time? Do they think you’re never going to raise and claim your steal position? Do they believe you’re just supposed to behave because they want to see the flop?
Start raising these people. If you’re deep stacked, raise to two times what’s out there. Make them pay dearly if they want to see their precious flops.
What happens when you do this is you often get the worst players at the table to come along for the ride, but the players with a clue will say to themselves, “wow, that’s a big raise. I’m out of here.” Now you control the table, and everyone else is living in your game.
If you end up isolating the worst players at the table, especially when you’re in position, this is a huge edge. These players were going to go bust to someone before the middle stages. Now, that person is going to be you.
Three-Bet Bluff More to Control the Table
Sometimes you will be at a table where people clearly got the memo that limping is not a great idea. They realize that play instantly caps their range at their worst hands and makes them easier to bluff.
To combat this, they start raising with every hand they want to see the flop with. Their problem? They want to see the flop with damn near everything, because folding is boring and they don’t like doing it.
To exploit their impatience what you’re going to want to do is re-raise them more. You don’t need much. You just need something that beats their range. If you have some loose cannon opening any suited gapper he likes from middle position, then K-Jo on the cut-off becomes a value three-bet.
Don’t shy away from the counter-punch when you know it’s the right move. Get out of your comfort zone and play the game right.
Squeeze More
Sometimes, you’ll get a mix of the loose/passive limpers and the people who like to raise with everything. This means you’ll get a number of people who are raising with weak hands and then a number of people who like to call those raises with anything. This is a perfect situation for you to control the table.
This sets up some interesting situations for you. You know the initial raiser has too many hands. You know the cold caller most likely would have three-bet with anything valuable. This means you’re likely facing two mediocre ranges. If there’s more cold callers, it’s likely those players don’t have big hands either, because they also would have three-bet with their best hands.
What you can do in this situation is look at the stacks. If they’re deep, look at squeezing to two times the size of the pot to put a ton of pressure on all of the players. When you have some kind of suited-gapper, you’ll have a bunch of equity on a number of flops and you can keep hammering. If you have some big cards like A-K or A-Q you can do this play as well, because the flop will give you the best top pair a large percentage of the time.
Overbet More Versus Capped Ranges
You usually get away with these plays when you first start firing, but then people get pissed off. They feel like you’re mocking them and depriving them of a fun day of poker. This is when you have to take things to the next level.
Let’s say someone limps for the umpteenth time, and once again you show them that no, this is not your home game back in Kansas, and you raise to two times the size of the pot. They get huffy and puffy, then they call you. Right there. You know their range is most likely mediocre. The player would have limp/re-raised with their premiums.
They call you pre-flop and then the board comes 8d-5d-3s. Then they check to you and you fire a continuation bet. They call you quickly, almost to say, “you’re not going to bully me this time buddy!”
What did they just give away here?
Well, they didn’t need to think about anything. If they flopped a set or two pair on that board, they would have a lot to think about. Do they just smooth call and risk you checking back the turn or hitting your draw? Do they raise and possibly shut down the action? Decisions, decisions…
You know what doesn’t need to think about any of that? A mediocre pair or draw. You know exactly what this guy has now. You can blast overcards on the turn or the flush cards if you have a blocker. Either way, he’s not going to have hit those turns or river the majority of the time, and he’s really not going to like you putting pressure on him.
Does this work every time? Of course not. But you have to pay the cost to be the boss. Taking control of the table doesn’t work every time. On occasion, they get you. Even Aaron Judge doesn’t hit a home run every time he’s up at the plate.
Play Fast With Your Draws to Control the Table
In the previous hand, you know what would be a fun hand to have? A draw. That way, you can run this bluff versus their weak range, but a large percentage of the time you’re going to be bailed out by the turn or river.
Oftentimes, when I get a big stack early in a session, it’s because I’ve been pushing the table around and then I got lucky enough to hit a draw. Some guy makes top pair or two pair and loses his mind when he sees my hand. He then proceeds to complain to everyone who will listen about how lucky I am.
However, people hit draws all of the time. But people don’t get paid off every single time they hit a draw. You have to show people you’re willing to move chips around before you get called down.
By the way, if you want to secure calls, you don’t have to balance. You can bet smaller when you hit and larger when you’re pressuring mediocre ranges. None of these people is going to notice.
Go After The Casual Players
Finally, one small note before we leave. Be sure to go after the casual players.
If a guy looks like he’s going to rob a liquor store after the session, that’s usually someone who practically lives in the casino. That’s someone who has seen all these plays before. That might be someone who just can’t resist the siren song of a big pot. Those folks are harder to push around.
However, if you’re playing against an HVAC technician or someone who has a real life outside of the game, fire away. These stacks going in are usually overwhelming to casual fans. You will be able to control the table and get the results you want.
Conclusion
When you dictate the action, you control the outcomes. Use these tactics to stay one step ahead and keep your opponents reacting—not attacking.
Want to read more from APT Head Pro Alex Fitzgerald? Try his article about the 7 Golden Rules of Winning at Cash Games
