Collection of various Shorthanded Limit Hold'em articles/posts Opener 1-2 Limpers Facing A Raise Facing 3 Bet UTG MP CO Button MP CO Button MP CO Button CO Button AARRRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP K-KRRRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP QQRRRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP JJRRRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP TTRRRRRRRRRRRRRFF 99RRRRRRRRRRRRRFF 88RRRRRRRR/FR/FRRFF 77RRRRRRRR/FR/FRRFF 66FRRRLALALAFFFFF 55FRRRLALALAFFFFF 44FRRRLALALAFFFFF 33FFRRLALALAFFFFF 22FFRRLALALAFFFFF A-Ks R RRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP A-Qs R RRRRRRRRRRRRFCAP A-Js R RRRRRRRRRRRRFF A-Ts R RRRRRRRRRRRRFF A9sRRRRRRRFFRRFF A8sRRRRRRRFFFFF A7sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF A6sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF A5sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF A4sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF A3sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF A2sFR/FRRLARRFFFFF AKRRRRRRRRRRRRRCAPCAP AQRRRRRRRRRRRRRFF AJRRRRRRRR/FRRRRFF ATRRRRRRRR/FR/FR/FFF A9FRRRFFFFFFFF A8FFRRFFFFFFFF A7FFRRFFFFFFFF A6FFRRFFFFFFFF A5FFRRFFFFFFFF A4FFRRFFFFFFFF A3FFRRFFFFFFFF A2FFRRFFFFFFFF KQsRRRRRRRRRRRRRFF KJsRRRRRRRR/FRRRRFF KTsRRRRRRRFFR/FFF K9sFRRRFFLAFFFFF K8sFFRRFFFFFFFF KQRRRRRRRR/FRRRRFF KJRRRRRRRFFR/FFF KTFFRRFFLAFFFFF K9FFRRFFLAFFFFF QJs R R R R LA R R F F R/F F F QTsR/FRRRLARRFFFFF Q9sFFRRFFLAFFFFF Q8sFFFRFFLAFFFFF QJFFRRFFLAFFFFF QTFFRRFFLAFFFFF Q9FFFRFFLAFFFFF JTsR/FRRRLARRFFFFF J9sFFR/FRFFLAFFFFF J8sFFFRFFLAFFFFF JTFFRRFFLAFFFFF J9 F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF T9sFFFRFFLAFFFFF T8s F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF T9 F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF 98s F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF 87s F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF 76s F F F R F F L2-3 FFFFF 1 PokerPages articles by Jason Pohl 1.1 Varying Your Play 1.2 The Overcard Quandary Part 1 1.3 The Overcard Quandary Part 2 1.4 'Stocking Stuffers' 1.5 Flop Play Part 1 1.6 Flop Play Part 2 1.7 A Secret about Winning 1.8 The Powerful Turn Raise 1.9 Adjusting to Real Players 1.10 The Scary Small Blind (Part 1) 1.11 The Scary Small Blind (Part 2) 1.12 Defending the Blinds 1.13 Preflop Play (Part 1) 1.14 Preflop Play (Part 2) 1.15 Don't Wake a Sleeping Giant 1.16 Back to Basics 2 Hypermegachi's 6-max Guide 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Preflop Play 2.3 Postflop Play 2.4 Hand Values 2.5 Flop Play EP 2.6 Flop Play MP 2.7 Flop Play LP 2.8 Flop Play in the Blinds 2.9 General Flop Comments 2.10 Turn Play 2.11 River Play 2.12 Protecting Your Hand 2.13 Blind Steals 2.14 Bluffing 2.15 Showdown 2.16 Summary 3 Other articles 3.1 Leaks in Your Shorthanded Limit Hold'em Game 3.2 MecosKing on Shorthanded Limit Hold'em, Part 1 3.3 MecosKing on Shorthanded Limit Hold'em, Part 2 4 Forum posts 4.1 Standard hand 101 (2+2) 4.2 Open raising standards (2+2) 4.3 Am I just running badly? (2+2) 4.4 Stop'n'Go (2+2) 4.5 25 very simple questions (2+2) 4.6 Bugs on Maniacs (ITH 6-Max) 4.7 Bugs on small/middle pairs 4.8 Bugs on his stats 5 Hand Examples 5.1 Blind play, a few hands from a 6-max beginner (2+2) 5.2 Some hands (2+2) 5.3 Some more hands (2+2) 5.4 Middle pair, very aggressive (2+2) 1 PokerPages articles by Jason Pohl 1.1 Short-Handed Poker: Varying Your Play by Jason Pohl "Vary your play." Those three words are like a sacred mantra, chanted down by more authors than I care to visualize. Those three words are treated as gospel by thousands of poker players every day. Because it is said so often and practiced even more, the sanctity of the advice often goes unquestioned. But is it really such a sacred concept after all? The Losing Psychology Why do losing players continue to lose? There are only a handful of plausible explanations. Maybe the losing player doesn't care about winning, or they aren't willing to put in the time to learn, or they don't know where to learn. Maybe the losing player fails to observe others, lacks necessary patience, or simply tilts at the first sign of bad luck. To each of these players, the instruction "Vary your play" must sound wonderful. After all, it's a simple concept and easy to implement. It requires little patience, since one can play extra hands in the name of 'variety.' It justifies tilting, explaining those bad raises or calls away. "In any case", the tilter thinks, "I'm just mixing up my play." It is some of the most undemanding advice available in the poker world, because everybody can be "unpredictable," and they don't even really need to know how to play. There have been multiple networks showing celebrities compete in poker tournaments for their favorite charities. An education in solid poker play this is not, but there is some entertainment value, especially if you enjoy poker for the sake of poker. When they were asked about their style, many of the celebrities stated something to the effect of, "Well, I have no clue what I'm doing, so that will make me really unpredictable. I figure that's a huge advantage." Of course, this sort of logic is flawed (and humorous). But it does give an introspective look into the thought process of many beginning players who feel that "unpredictability" is a "huge advantage." In this article, we will somewhat debunk the "Vary your play" motto. I will argue that it is an idea that only applies intermittently to specific sets of players. In effect, we will change the slogan to "Vary your play IF…" Figuring out when to vary your play will separate the losing players using unpredictability as an excuse from the winning players using unpredictability as a weapon. Reflecting the Wrong Image Let's begin with the fundamental assumption that there is a 'correct' way to play. I believe strongly that there is in fact a correct style, and that style is known as tight/aggressive. In order to be tight and aggressive, a winning player will naturally play tighter than most of their competition, and a winning player will bet, raise, or reraise more effectively than their competition. In addition, the tight/aggressive player will regularly show down winning hands. There is nothing a winning player can do to change these simple truths. And eventually, somebody will notice. But the reality is that most players will in fact never notice. There are several reasons the tight/aggressive player escapes detection. First, most players are unobservant. Online opponents might play 2 or more tables, read their email, visit their favorite website, or watch TV in the background. There is also a high turnover on most online games, with players changing tables or limits at a whim. Some players show up to play as little as ten minutes before work, errands, or the new episode of their favorite sitcom. Even at live games, most players only notice hands shown down at the end, and even then they might not pay heed unless they were the one losing the pot. Since most pots are won by a high-quality hand, it may not even register as unusual when one player consistently shows down good hands to take down large pots. In fact, such a trend might be taken as evidence of that player's good fortune. Note: You could encourage this point of view by occasionally 'admitting' that the deck is "running your over." Second, luck will play a role in mixing up one's play. No matter how tight one plays, they will occasionally get streaks of five or more hands where they start with premium holdings. Raising the pot several times in a row could brand a player as loose/aggressive, because few players would suspect that all those consecutive hands were in fact properly played. Finally, we come to the other underlying problem with loose calls or raises. To affect your image, you must show down your hand. Consider how often a hand like 96s misses the flop. Is it worth "advertising" your phantom loose tendencies if you must make several bad plays to show your hand? Remember, if you consistently take hands too far and bluff too much in the name of "unpredictability", you are no longer playing tight/aggressive. While trying to deceive people into believing you are a loose/aggressive or loose/passive player, you may in fact become one! Even when you finally show down a poor hand, your opponents must notice your play and make a change in how they play against you. Also, if they reason deeply enough to consider that you might play an extra hand to "vary your play," you have lost all advantage. In other words, a player good enough to pay attention could very well be good enough to see through your ruse. A player not good enough to see through your deception may not notice your 'bad play' in the first place. Earning a Bigger Pot It is often pointed out that it might be occasionally correct to limp-reraise with pocket Aces, or to raise with T9s from an early position, or a myriad of other plays contrary to standard practice. In fact, such advice is correct in specific circumstances. For example, if one or more players was raising every hand preflop (but not reraising), limping Aces with the intention of reraising might earn additional profit. Or, if the game was exceptionally tight, suited connectors might profit immediately because the chance of stealing the blinds is high (turning a marginal call/fold into a profitable raise). However, in these scenarios, the profit earned by playing the hand unconventionally is immediate. All this proves is that one must adjust their play to the game. The "correct" strategy has changed because there are extreme conditions.