Picking from the Pros: Tips for Playing Against Tough Opponents

I've written several articles pointing out home games and other similar games with weak opponents. Many of the tactics I suggested were rather simple and aimed at taking advantage of their poor play.

However, as you move up the limits, and even at the lower limits, you'll come up against better opponents - sometimes players who make a living from poker or who call themselves professional players. Against these guys and girls, you need a different arsenal of tricks if you want to win. Here are two of them.

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Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee

Good aggressive players have learned to change their ranges depending on their position. Consequently, raises from late position will often contain a lot of weak hands, if not outright bluffs. Meanwhile, if you've cultivated a tight image at the table, your best opponents will notice and be more likely to take your aggression seriously.

You can exploit these two factors - your wider range and your image as a seemingly unimaginative type of player - and steal pots from them with your aggression. You float your raises from early position and then, depending on your position, re-raise or check-raise your continuation bets on the flop.

Here are two examples:

You're in a cash game with blinds R$ 1.00 / R$ 2.00 on the button with :Ks :2c , a hand you would normally fold. You've folded almost all of your starting hands. Tony, a regular who calls himself a pro and is known for being a loose-aggressive winning player, is sitting conveniently two seats to your right. Two guys call his big blind and Tony raises to $15. You and the big blind also call.

The flop comes :Qs :9d :7s and the big blind checks. Tony bets $30. He might have a hand. Perhaps he started with AQ or JT. However, his range could also include a dozen other hands that missed the flop. With the expanded range of hands resulting from his general style of play and his position, the odds of him flopping are clearly in your favor. (Poker is a game of probability, not certainty). The action folds to you and you raise to $75. Expect to take the pot.

This move can also work from early position. Imagine the same hand as above, only this time Tony is on the button and you are two seats to his right (in the hijack seat). The hand goes similarly with some opponents calling before you act. In this situation you also call with your :Ks :2c and Tony raises to $15 on the button. The big blind calls, as do you. The flop is again :Qs :9d :7s . The big blind checks, you check and Tony bets $30. The big blind folds and you check-raise to $75 - with the same expected result.

The Jiu-Jitsu of Poker

Professional and semi-professional players generally have little regard for low-limit opponents. This creates a gap in their game that you can take advantage of. They tend to underestimate you, the unknown low-limit opponent, and therefore remain consistently aggressive in the face of your passivity. This is exploitable. Use jiu-jitsu on them. Let the force of their aggression get them into trouble.

An example of this - slow play against strong opponents

You're in seat no. 7 in a R$ 2.00 / R$ 5.00 game with a very good player in seat no. 5. He raises to $15 and the player between you two folds. You're down to :Ks :Kc . Don't re-raise. In position, just call. One of the blinds also calls and the flop comes :Qd :Ts :2c .

The player in the big blind checks and the preflop raiser bets $50. Don't raise with your overpair. Just call again. The player in early position folds. The action goes heads-up on the turn and each of you is deep stacked with around R$ 500.00. The turn brings another 2, making the board :Qd :Ts :2c :2d . Your opponent now bets $120. Again, don't raise, just call.

On the river, expect a modest bet that you can call, or a check after which you can make a value bet or (depending on the card on the river) just check behind. Either way you can win money from your opponent, who will usually be overestimating his own hand, thinking you're weak, or with a call with all those calls and not expecting you to have a premium pair.

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Being a good player, he will tend not to give you credit for the hand you actually had, since you played it in an unconventional way. You will have used your strength against yourself, winning much more than if you had played the hand in an expected way and re-raised against him from the start.

Both moves involve some risk. You may have the bad luck to make them when your solid opponent has a very good hand. You should also remember not to overuse them just because you can. If your image isn't that of a tight and conventional player, or if you incorrectly classify him as a loose-aggressive player when he's actually a NIT, then you could just be putting yourself in a lot of trouble.

However, used selectively and at the right time, these moves can allow you to cash in on the game's toughest players.

Article translated and adapted from the original: Picking Off the Pros: Tips vs. Tough Opponents