the-poker-grafter

Limping is synonymous with passive poker and therefore often discarded as weakness. Serial limpers will often be dismissed as ’calling stations’ who play average start cards hoping to get lucky. Many of the game’s authors point out that simply calling is very often the worst of the plays one can make in many situations. The argument would be that you raise for strength and information or you fold because you’re in trouble. However, it is the weak appearance of the limp that is actually it’s greatest strength. I often try to implement what I call the ‘Columbo move’ in a heads-up scenario when the limp can really come into its own.

Columbo was of course a brilliant fictional detective who’s greatest asset was his shabby appearance and, seemingly slow-witted nature that always made him easy to under-estimate. Invariably the criminal would be lulled into a false sense of security before Columbo provided just enough rope for the perpetrator to hang himself. Cleverly limping the small blind in a heads-up poker contest, the right amount, at the right times, will often snare your victim for much the same reason.

The logic for this ploy has to be worked through from the start. Novice players will quickly discover that limping a lot in a head-up game with trash hands puts you on a hiding to nothing. Most opponents won’t stand for that if the blinds are high and they can push all-in to pick up the pots.  A beginner realises this after several hands are treated the same way and begins to fold his weaker hands instead. Before he knows it he is folding the small blind a huge amount of the time giving the big blind ‘walk after walk‘. With blinds high any stack equality is quickly lost as the aggressor seizes the initiative. Our newcomer then realises that his opponent is pushing the majority of his small blinds all-in to avoid the same fate. Consequently the aggressor is taking the new boy to the cleaners by winning the vast majority of pots from both positions. The novice is then just praying for a massive hand to come along and save the day without which he is simply outplayed. Of course the most common approach is for our beginner to gain confidence and experience and fight fire with fire. Heads-up poker quickly descends into a small blind push-fest.

But your play doesn’t have to be quite so lacking in guile. When AA suddenly appears in the small blind the need for action suddenly jolts the newcomer into a tactical switch. He decides to suddenly revert to limping and wait for the big blind to push his way into trouble. Against another inexperienced player this out-of the-blue limp is indeed likely to set-up the trap successfully. However, the problem is that a wiser opponent will be put on high-alert by the sudden limp and slowdown his own play assuming he has run into a big gun. The obvious nature of the limp flags up the strength and makes a big pot win much less likely.

So what to do to trick a canny opponent? Easy. Limp a little more, with a range of hands. It’s imperative that a limp doesn’t always equate to AA, KK or QQ otherwise you won’t get pushed by the big blind. Let your opponent see that you will sometimes limp in with trash and other times with quality. Unpredictability is the key because it becomes very hard to second guess. I’d imagine a limp about once every 8-10 hands in the small blind after a combination of raises and folds will stand out and get respected, and therefore checked to see a flop. This then opens the door for winning the pot with one continuation bet with virtually anything on most flops. Your opponent may sit there smugly thinking they  are folding to your big hand when you may in fact have nothing at all.

By about the third time you’ve limped in short order your opponent will think it increasingly unlikely that you are only playing monster hands in this fashion. If he’s never played you before he’s actually liable to under-estimate you in true Columbo-style because your frequent limp strategy resembles that of the novice we discussed earlier. The difference is that you’re knowingly setting up the bait by feigning weakness! He will start to play back at you more aggressively and riskily again from the big blind. This will cost you a few small pots but it’s all part of setting up the big moment when a great hand does arrive. And often there’s no need to wait for big start cards to arrive. Success is just as likely to come through sneaking a peak at a flop with something unglamorous. That flopped 2-pair with 10-7s will be very difficult to read!

So playing heads-up poker in the seemingly clumsy manner of a 1970s detective has its merits. Next week I’ll introduce the ‘Miss Marple Stop and Go’ tactic…Well, we’ll see.

Simon Ballou writes for Oddschecker Poker

Although caution generally goes out the window when it comes to heads-up poker it may not necessarily be time to panic. It’s crucial to understand that your chip size in relation to the blinds is much more significant that your chip size in relation to your opponent. If you have 3000 chips and your opponent has 12,000 then the situation appears daunting, but it may not be desperate. Perhaps players have been dropping like flies and proceedings reached the heads-up stage unusually early. If this is the case then the blinds will reflect that and it’s up to you to capitalise on the situation by appreciating the true pace of the game.

Let’s say the blinds are 100-200. Given the chip ratio described above, your opponent is in a strong position but he would be wrong to think he has the game won. There is still plenty of poker to be played in this game. One mindset I might adopt is to evaluate what my prospects look like if I doubled up. I realise that if I achieve this before my stack drops below 2000 then I will then have a minimum of 4000 in comparison to his 11000 maximum. If I then double-up again before I drop below 3000 then I will have a minimum of 6000 chips compared to his 9000 maximum. In this scenario there would suddenly be all to play for and I would have the momentum. This may sound like basic wishful thinking but it’s important to realise that winning just two hands I commit to could turn the game on its head. On those terms the predicament seems less daunting.

The other crucial aspect of this mindset is that I still allow myself some scope to fold. When I have 3000 chips and the blinds are 100-200 I’ve decided that the situation only becomes critical if I fall below 2000. Too many players panic when they face a huge chip deficit regardless of the blind situation. The psychology of the situation must not be discarded either. Your opponent may expect you to be desperate and panicky; he may be thrown off-kilter if you remain calm and collected. For his part he may think the game is won and get impatient if it drags out.

It’s quite likely that a big stack will push his chips all-in on most hands in this situation with a very wide range of cards. Remember, he’s probably gained his big stack by bulldozing through the rest of the field with considerable success. He’s feeling confident and he’s on a roll. This can lead to complacency and loose aggression. But in effect every all-in push he makes risks 3000 of his own chips to win a likely 300. This may not sound too outrageous with 12000 chips behind him but one wrong move could transform the game. One successful call with your short-stack and the net-swing is 6000 chips. Suddenly the cavalier push with 9-3 off-suit looks a little rash.

So what cards do you chance your arm with against a big-stack bully? Well, if he’s all-in on every hand then we can allocate him a card range of any two. But obviously we want to call when we have an edge. I suggest a calling range begins at any ace, most kings, or any two high cards in this spot. If you succeed in doubling up to around 4000 chips before the blinds rise, you can then become more selective. It then doesn’t matter if you lose six hands in a row in blinds so long as you can triumph on the big showdown.

If your stack does recover enough to be threatening, then an aggressive player may refine his strategy from constant all-ins, to constant raising. If this happens at least you’re being taken a little more seriously. At this point you have gained an additional play option. With more chips at your disposal it is now possible to call a raise without going all-in. While this can be an advantage it will lead a weak player to ruin. For example, calling raises with decent heads-up hands like A-5 is generally ill-advised. Against an aggressive bully this is a re-raise all-in hand, because while it’s reasonable to think you’re ahead, it’s a lousy hand to see a flop with.

Having said all this, if the blinds are crippling in relation to your stack size then you really can’t hang about. I would suggest that your situation is critical if your chip stack represents 5 or 6 big blinds or less. In a SNG this means that if the blinds are 200-400 and you hold 2400 chips or less then you should push all-in on the small blind every time with any two cards. That really is no time to be choosy.

Simon Ballou writes for Oddschecker Poker