Champion of Poker

Poker players use various tactics to create their deception. Being deceptive in your poker play is successful when poker players at your table assume you are playing one poker strategy style but you are disguising a different style. Deception can be conducted by doing the same thing in various spots, like always raising three times the big blind pre-flop whether you are strong or not, or changing gears. Changing gears is a poker term used to describe you changing up your poker playing style depending on the players, circumstances and momentum that constantly shift whilst a game of poker is in session.

You see changing gears executed by top sportsmen in many different sports. I play a lot of Pool and you see players being mediocre during the beginning of a match then suddenly they run three racks and secure control of a match they then go on to win. This is changing gears. They are doing something different which has a positive effect on their performance within the game because of this style change.

When you play in an online poker tournament you must change gears several times in order to win. A mistake I frequently make is getting through the first fifty per cent of the tournament and then with my medium to large stack I wait too long for good hands. Just before the money I push all-in and rely on luck to decide whether I get paid or bust out. I should change gears and be more aggressive as the bubble approaches. Of course I will bust out a few times but I will also build a bigger stack some of the time too giving me a better chance of securing the top prizes.

The hard part is knowing when to change gears when it is not so obvious you need to do so. This often happens at a real money cash game table. It is only instinct and feel that indicate when the time is right. How do you give someone good advice on something that is so personal and intuitive? Players like James Akenhead seem to know exactly what to do. It helps that players are naturally afraid of him. Better players get more respect for plays so make sure your poker playing base is solid before trying anything cute. Fortunately there are things to look out for to indicate when a change of gear is optimal and/or necessary that applies to both cash games and poker tournaments.

Your poker table may be passive and then someone joins the game that sets the tone by raising hard and trying to bully the table. This can instantly transform the table and you need to change gears here to survive this new dynamic. You may be the player forcing the change by changing gears yourself, or another player may do it. Look out for when players who change their style suddenly and do something different. This is a signal to consider your own style and whether it is time to change gears and play poker in a different way.

Even the most solid poker player cannot afford to become predictable. Within the paradigm of tight aggressive you can ebb and flow between aggression and passive play to confuse your opponents. If you play a hand a certain way and an opponent instantly calls or folds that you did not expect, consider that they may have a read on your preferred play in this spot. Doing something different makes opponents question their reads. Remember that reads are educated guesses based on observations. You can muddy the waters for opponents by changing gears and give them more to worry about when playing hands with you.

By Malcolm Clarke