Play the Player

Posted by wynn on Jun 22, 2010 in Bluffs, Great Reads, Table Talk | 1 comment

Everyone always talks about “playing the player”. What they are really doing is determining a range of hands their opponent is playing and trying to be one starting hand better than that.

The best example of this that comes to mind is someone I used to play with in Black Hawk. She would always say “I am playing the player” anytime she would be in a hand with a donkey that played rags. She figured if her rags were slightly better than donkey rags, she would win.

More times than not, she would lose. Why? Because those players see every flop and showdown every river. To play that player properly, you HAVE to showdown the nuts to win the hand. Slightly better rags are not good enough.

My brand of “playing the player” does not  involve the hand range of my opponent. It involves their ability to play after the flop.

I play with a guy in Detroit that has alot of potential to be a rounder. He plays good cards, usually makes good decisions, and plays a generally good game.

But, he is inexperienced in post-flop play. For example, when he has pocket 10s or better, he shoves pre-flop so he does not have to think about the hand after the flop.

I have also seen him lay down the best hand after the flop when confronted with a substantial bet or raise.

This game takes more than cards and bets to be consistently profitable. In a nutshell, it takes heart.

You have to be willing to die to live, and that means not being worried about losing.

The player from Detroit and me had a conversation a while back at the table and I mentioned that I am not afraid to put the chips in and I am not afraid to lose. His reaction to that was one of astonishment.

Flash forward a month to a hand he and I were in. This player was on my immediate right and limped in. I raise to $17 pre-flop with A-Q. Action folds around to my young friend and he calls.

At this point for me, the cards don’t matter. He probably does not have A-K. I know he does not have 10-10 or better.

Knowing his range of hands, he has a small pair.

The flop comes Q-6-3 rainbow.

My opponent checks.

I bet $15.

Check raise is not in this player’s arsenal unless he has a set or better. I also know that he is timid about risking his stack of about $200.

My opponent announces raise, grabs a stack of about $75 and starts putting red chips out in stacks of $15.

I think it is time for me to make a move and outplay my young friend.

The key here is confusion. I need to confuse him with an unexpected play.

Keep in mind that if he flopped a set of 6s or 3s, I need running Queens to win. In other words, I am basically drawing dead.

I let him count out three stacks of $15. As he is getting ready to start the fourth stack, I announce “all-in”.

He freezes.

So far, so good.

“What? Did we both flop a set?” he asks me as he stares me down searching hopelessly for a tell.

I sit and I wait, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

My heart is idling at my resting rate while he starts to breathe fast and shallow.

Perfect.

He shows me his hand. Pocket 3s.

“Out of fairness to you and the table, I can only show you one card. I don’t want anyone thinking there is any collusion here. Ok?” I say.

“Sure.”

I pull off the top card. The Queen.

He tanks and folds.

“Do you want to see the other card?” I ask.

Now, he starts steaming because he knows now it is not a Queen.

I show the Ace and he tells me he calls next time.

“Next time, I have the stone cold nuts.”

And that is the second part of playing the player. If they are now on tilt and will call anything against you because they can’t read you, then you HAVE to have the stone cold nuts on the next hand.