Poker Articles

(continued from Part 1)


Game Flow and Momentum

OK, so I got into a blind vs. blind confrontation with KQ at the blinds 100-200 and won 3,000 chips, which was a good momentum booster for me because I was feeling down and out for investing $11,000 and not winning a pot. After that I finally felt like I was moving in the right direction. Early on in a tournament I don’t feel it’s important to have a big stack at all, but it is always nice to get chips and put you in a good mental state. Anyone that has chatted with me knows that I don’t believe in “luck” or “runs,” but I do feel that understanding game flow is a major part of being a great tournament player.

There have been a few hand histories of mine shown in the PocketFives’ forums as very poor plays. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I have made many bad plays in my career, but there are also a lot of plays that I have made that many don’t understand, which I feel are good plays based on the game flow. Understanding what people are most likely to do at each level of a tournament, understanding the psychology of players, and when to predict their changes in attitude are all key factors in game flow. For example, all the players sitting at my table and seeing my game flow during the re-buy period should have expected me to play poorly.
 
As another example, late in an MTT online you should expect a 10 big blind stack to be shoving all in light (with a wide range of hands), a 15bb stack to be re-raising all-in light, and a 20bb stack to be opening light. In live tourneys, however, the game flow is different. A 10bb stack becomes a little more patient because the blinds increase slowly. Also, a 20bb stack isn’t big enough to be opening as freely as it could online because there are plenty of stacks out there that are of 100bbs or more.

Another key element to game flow is realizing when a player’s mood is going to change and affect his play. Some things that change people’s attitude are losing a big pot, winning a big pot, getting shown that they were bluffed, hunger, the urge to use the restroom, or just the desire to make it to a break or to the end of the day. Something I hear people say is, “I wish I would have known he was that kind of player, I would have called him a long time ago.” Don’t let that be you! Sometimes we can’t predict what our opponents are going to do, but by applying a little extra observation efforts you can easily start to see a change in game flow. 
 


Stealing a Stealing Steal?
 

Let’s talk about another specific high-level example. Everyone at your table is playing tight, so all of a sudden an aggressive player starts raising a few pots. Now everyone still sits back and never re-raises him and just lets him run them over for an hour or more. This is a spot where if I was sitting on this table, I would instantly start calling this player more in position and “floating” him (calling to take the pot later in the hand).  I may also just put in a re-raise in on him pre-flop with any two cards. I don’t wait for him to raise 15 times to finally realize he is stealing. It’s important to realize that since the game flow of the table has been very soft and everyone is folding too much that this player is trying to take advantage of it (as he should), and I’d combat that by using his strength and making it his weakness.

There is one last advanced game flow play I want to mention in this situation. Let’s say the same aggressive player starts opening a lot of pots, and then a very good player at the table re-raises him. Most may think, “This guy hasn’t re-raised much at all, so he must have a really good hand, I’m going to avoid this pot.” If we stop and think about game flow of this hand, it’s probably just as likely, if not more likely, that this really good player has caught onto what we know, and now has re-raised him light. In this exact spot, especially with deep stacks, I would four bet with any two cards.

There is huge value in this play. The original raiser is opening light, and even if he has a hand, what could he call here with? Our hand looks like it has to be AK or higher, and we’ve already determined that we don’t credit his raise in the first place. He also has to think about the 2nd raiser who is left to act. The 2nd raiser might have a hand worthy or re-raising, but even if he does, he’d have to be either dumb or brilliant to not fold a hand like JJ or AQ. And again, by examining the game flow, we most likely think he’s not as strong as he’s representing.

I started writing this article as soon as I busted out of the WSOP tournament. Since then I’ve tried to write this many times, but every time I kept having more and more ideas leak out. Therefore, I’ve decided to make this article an “introduction” of sorts. I’d really appreciate any feedback and suggestions on what you would all like to hear more about, so I can make this string of articles even more interesting and informative to the readers. Good luck at the tables.
 

Craig “MrCasino” Gray

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This is Part 2 of 2 of Craig Gray's article on rebuy tournament analysis.  Part 1


* Craig "MrCasino" Gray represents a group of six professional poker players called Final Table Team.  Their website, www.FinalTableTeam.com features player bios, blogs and updates on their progress in live and online poker tournaments.


Final Table Team Members

Craig MrCasino Gray
JasonGray
billywestom
Jordan Octavian_C Rich
Kyle thetruth503 Zartman
Eric jakzpoker101 Crain


Recent Scores for MrCasino

$78,000.00

$1050 buy-in, The Super Tuesday [$400, 000 guaranteed] on PokerStars. 08/26/2008, 1 place for 78,000.00

$50,508.90

$215 buy-in, Sunday Second Chance - [$200K guaranteed!] on PokerStars. 04/27/2008, 1 place for 50,508.90

$59,925.00

$109 buy-in, $109+R NL Hold'em on PokerStars. 03/16/2008, 1 place for 59,925.00

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