Most of the time I stick to a standard betting system, such as raising three times the big blind and betting two-thirds or three-quarters of the pot on the flop. When I’m the preflop aggressor, I lead with sets, trips, monster made hands and monster draws. I like to keep the aggression whether or not I hit the flop so my opponents can’t figure out when I’ve hit and when I’ve missed. Let’s say I raise with
“What would my opponent do if I had this hand?” If I can answer that question, I can do the opposite for deception. If you come out firing into them, the first thing a lot of players think is “Well, if he had an ace, why would he bet? It’s a rainbow board!” Many opponents will call you with middle and even bottom pairs or potentially even float you on the flop to try to steal on the turn. Yes, inexperienced players will still float to try to steal on the turn because they may have just read about floating in a recent book or article. At the same time, if you’re playing against a savvy opponent who knows you bet your monsters strong, or you’re opponent has seen you take this line with big hands, you can check to vary your play and create deception.
A similar use of varying your betting to create deception takes place on the turn or even better, the river. Let’s say you’re on the button and called a standard raise from an early position player with
The river brings a complete blank, the
Knowing your opponents, your table image and what hands you have shown will play a key role in the success of these plays. Situations like these don’t happen all the time, but they surface much more frequently than you might imagine — so be on the lookout. Next time you’re at the table, look for situations to deceive or instill curiosity in your opponents to maximize the value of your strong hands.
Decide to win!
— Lee Childs is founder and lead instructor of Acumen Poker. He also is an instructor with the WPT Boot Camp. Check out his site at www.acumenpoker.net.