Changing PaceVary your poker playing style.
Stability and predictability may well be the formula for success in business but not all the time. This is especially true if it's your business to play and win in poker games. A poker player's downfall can often be traced to using the same strategy over and over again. It's all good to use a technique once in a while but make it a regular in your stable of tricks and your opponents are sure to watch out and be prepared for it. That said, the only regular trick that should play a part in all your poker strategies is changing pace, a certain mind game.
Changing pace, quite simply, means that you vary your playing style. As you probably know, there are four types of poker players: aggressive-tight, passive-tight, aggressive-loose, and passive-loose. Players of the first type are characterized by their penchant for playing few hands while frequently bluffing and raising. The second type, on the other hand, plays few hands but only calls others' bluffs or raises. An aggressive-loose player also bluffs and raises but plays a lot of hands. Meanwhile, the fourth type only calls while playing many hands. Since each kind has a telltale quality, any poker player worth his salt would try to determine which type you fall under.
In this regard, changing pace gives you the advantage of being an unpredictable player. Say, you have played with your present opponent previously. He thinks he knows your style so most often than not, he'll plan his strategy on how best to ruin "your" type of play. Play along for a bit then change your pace. Start off being passive then, just when he's all comfy, attack aggressively. You'll surprise him and make him rethink his whole strategy, thus ruining his early momentum. If you think they expect you to call, raise the stakes. Bluff when they expect you to call. Make them wait before raising a call. Get them edgy and unsure. This frequent changing of playing styles confuses them and prevents them from forming counter-attack techniques.
Of course, any good poker player will expect this from a worthy opponent. So how can you change pace without being obvious? Remember that poker players are apt to observe their opponents so subtlety is key in changing pace. First, you can make a different move when you feel that your opponents expect you to do a specific action. For example, when the other players are anticipating that you will bluff, do so rarely. This will make them call you more. Switching your play like this will give your opponents a hard time in figuring you out and it would hide your play in safe obscurity. In addition, you can change the way you play to keep the other players on edge. You can be a tight player for an hour or two and then loosen up your game later.
Moving on, changing pace is indeed useful in saving yourself from being caught. However, you must be aware that this strategy may be effective only in certain types of poker. In no-limit games, changing your play such as bluffing unexpectedly can be useful as the pot gets bigger. On the other hand, switching your play in limit poker should only be done when you see that the stakes are great enough. The number of players in the table must also be considered. Making different moves is advisable in a game with five or four players as the stakes would most probably be high.
Aside from the type of game you are playing, you should also consider the other persons in it. Amateur players would usually find it hard to catch up for a long time once you change your moves. However, those who are more experienced may easily see your abrupt game switching at the early stages and quickly find a pattern. Therefore, you need to change your pace for a few times and maintain its random order. Avoid playing loosely for an hour, then becoming tight in the next hour, and going back to your first strategy within the same interval.
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