Pokerwiner.com → Within poker principles

EASING THE TRANSITION TO THE MIDDLE LIMITS: PART II

In Part One of this two part essay, I provided three poker strategy tips intended to help players make a more comfortable transition from the smaller limits to the middle limits. Here in Part II, I touch on three broader ideas, not specifically strategic in nature, that should help as well with this move up.

1.Put more emphasis on game selection.

When you play in small limit games, game selection is frequently not terribly important. Of course, you might reasonably elect not to play in an unusual $3 –$6 game which just happens to contain all the best $3-$6 players in town, or a $6-$12 game in which several good players from higher limit games are playing while they wait for seats in their regular games, but those are exceptions. Most often there are several players in a small limit game who are weak enough that it is reasonable to go ahead and play.

This is less often the case in middle limit poker games. Though at the time of this writing there are areas of the country said to have consistently soft middle limit games, in areas where such limits have been in place for a long time it is not rare to find a game containing several fairly good players, and no really weak players.

If you are not fairly experienced and one of the best players in the game yourself, such a game may be best avoided. Even if you think you are as good as most of the players in the game, if you see no one who is considerably less skilled than you, you might only expect a marginal hourly rate. Then you are producing little more than fluctuations, and are less likely to win in a given session. So, to the extent possible in your area, be especially picky about what games you sit down in during your initial period of adjustment.

2.Analyze your play against specific opponents.

In the smaller games, the overall level of play is bad enough that you can survive and perhaps do fairly well, spending only a modest amount of times analyzing the play of specific opponents. This is not always true in the middle limits. There you will encounter more player who do not so easily give their money away. Among them will be some who lose only a little, and whose style of play can create real problems for a better player who hasn’t looked closely at what they are doing. Then of course there are the tough, winning poker players whose play you will have to understand if you are not to give them your money. When dealing with an opponent who gives you problems, you must think systematically about that person’s play and develop effective counter-strategies. You can do this by keeping records and dissecting hands you’ve played against that person. Analyze them with an eye toward identifying any habitual patterns in his play, how well he plays, how he seems to view your play, and what kinds of mistakes you’ve made against him.

You should then be in a position to identify more effective strategic approaches to dealing with this player. Some opponents, though dangerous, lack the proper balance and mix in their play. They overemphasize certain tactics. Against them it is not difficult to develop well defined strategies which you can apply consistently and with great effect. In dealing with more skilled opponents the emphasis is more on determining at what level they are thinking (e.g., is he thinking only about what I have or is he thinking about what I think he has, or beyond?) and staying a step ahead of them. You play more of a cat and mouse game, trying to make them “zig when they should zag.”

3.Learn to play short-handed.

Unless you are already quite comfortable with short-handed play, this advice is really for after you have become accustomed to the middle limits. I offer it because you will find that middle limit games tend to become short-handed more often than small limit games. This is simply because there are fewer players available to keep them full. Therefore, if you consistently shun short-handed play you will miss some of the more profitable opportunities available in poker. So while I do not suggest that you indiscriminately jump into a lot of short-handed games while you are cutting your teeth in the middle limits, I do recommend, as you progress and become more comfortable at these limits, that you make the effort to learn about, and then try your hand at more and more short-handed poker. You may even find that it becomes a favorite part of your poker play.

Conclusion

I have provided only a few ideas which should help players moving up the limits. Many more could be mentioned, but such ideas can never be more than supplements to what is really needed for success at escalating limits a solid understanding of the game as a whole. If you have that, then you should not find winning in the middle limits to be terribly difficult. Yes, the game will be a little beat tougher games than at the small limits, but not as much as you might expect, especially if you exercise a little game selection. With the right set of skills you may find your move up to be a pleasant surprise.

The Strategic Moment in Holdem / One Way Not to Fold /

Beating the Berserko: Preflop Against a Maniac /

On Into the Storm: Playing the maniac After the Flop

One Reason to Reraise a Maniac / A Simple Read / Countering a Good Reader

Thinking About What They’re Thinking / Out On the Edge

Considerations in Two Blind Stealing Defense situations

Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part I

Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part II / Multiple Changing Images