Poker Articles

All successful poker players go into the game each time with a game plan. Even those who claim to have no plan, demonstrate that they do have one by the way they play. There is an old saying that goes, “Those who fail to plan are those who plan to fail.”

Sometimes a game plan can be very simple. I will raise every pot I open and bluff every chance I get, is one example of a simple plan. A more complex plan may be based on the type of table you find yourself at. For instance, I will play tight if my table is loose and loose if my table is tight.

If you’ve ever watched any sports or even seen any movies about sports, you probably have heard somebody say, “You’ve got to stick to the game plan.” Not that this isn’t good advice, but you also have to know when the game plan isn’t working. Sometimes you just have to change the plan.

The best game plans are flexible, adaptable, malleable. For instance, what happens if your game plan is a hyper aggressive one and they move you to a new and very different table. There you were betting, raising, and reraising almost every hand while the sheep at your table allowed you to walk all over them, and then suddenly you are somewhere else. Just for the sake of argument, let’s say your new table consists of Bax, Annette, LilHoldem, and three calling stations who have been getting lucky and all have huge stacks. Do you still want to come out firing? I’m thinking maybe not so much.

As another example, let’s say you got lucky yourself and ended the rebuy hour as the huge chip leader with 60K chips when the average is 8K. You immediately decide to go into bully mode. You apply pressure every chance you get and try to take as many pots as you can uncontested. Things go fairly well until just before the bubble when your pocket aces lose the biggest pot of the game to a lucky set from the second biggest chipstack. Now, with three players to go until the money, you are left with 20K when the blinds are 800/1600. Do you still want to be the bully?

They (the three wise men of poker?) say that the best players are able to play in all different styles. They (Norman Chad and Lon McEachern?) also say that these great players know the best time to change from loose to tight and from hyper-aggressive to merely aggressive, or rarely, even passive. I (a cross between Norman Chad and one of the wise men) believe that the best players not only change their style, but also change their game plan on the fly.

I recently made a video for RPT where I advocate re-evaluating your game plan constantly. Specific points that are key for re-evaluation include; wnning or losing a big pot yourself, having another player at your table win or lose a big pot, being moved to a new table, having the blinds and antes go up, and others as well. Anything that changes the dynamic at your table or in the tournament in general is worth re-evaluating your game plan over.

Without channeling Humberto Brenes, think of your game plan as a shark. It needs to in constant motion, fluid and changeable, or it, and you will die. It’s true that we must learn from the past, but the really smart people also learn from the present. The most consistent winners are also able to plan for the future and adapt that plan as circumstances change. So make a plan and then don’t be afraid to change it as you go and you will plan to win.