Changing gears

Changing gears is a hot topic when it comes to poker tournaments. It describes the art of altering the speed of your play as the tournament progresses. The ability to change gears, and more importantly the experience of knowing when to do it, can make the difference between a good tournament player and a great one.

There are many factors involved in deciding which gear you should be in, and when to move up or down. While feel and instinct at the table are the key sources that guide the very best players, in this article, I’ll discuss a number of situations to look out for when playing in a no-limit hold’em tournament.

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION

The idea of moving through the gears is to change your playing style during a tournament to take advantage of the current playing conditions. You are aiming to play the optimum style at any given time with the intention of building your stack by making yourself as hard to read as possible. For example, if you have been playing very tight, switching gears should enable you to accumulate chips through credible bluffs.

On the other hand, if you’ve been extremely active, your opponents will probably pay you off with mediocre holdings if you wait patiently for big hands and bet them strongly. These ‘table conditions’ are constantly changing and include the type of players at your table, your table image, the level of the blinds and antes, the size of your stack, play becoming more short-handed and any impending money jumps.

Most players will only really consider what their opponents have been doing over the last 30 minutes or so. You should use this to your advantage by changing the other players’ perceptions of your play. You must not allow yourself to fall into this trap and must always follow your opponents’ plays from the time they sit at the table to the time the table breaks and constantly look out for hands that play out that may suggest that they themselves are changing gears. You must also keep in mind all the hands you have seen them play or heard them discuss from previous tournaments.

When you move to a new table your opponents’ impressions of you will be set after the first couple of rounds. Of course, there will be some players who have played with you before and have their own pre-conceived idea of how you play, but even then the smarter players will realise that not everyone plays the same way all of the time. So you should use these first few rounds to build your image.

For example, a couple of decent hands being shown down, or even just a button or small blind being passed would contribute to building a solid image. Before long you can speed up your play and it is surprising how long you can remain under the radar for. You need to be aware of how and when your opponents’ perceptions of you are changing, and be prepared to slow your play down again when you feel it is necessary, and hopefully get some stronger hands paid off.

KEY POINT

Pay close attention to all your opponents’ actions from the start of play, and be aware of when they may be attempting to switch gears. Don’t make the mistake of only focusing on the last 30 hands

TO ANOTHER DIMENSION

When should you start moving up the gears? One of the earliest distinct shifts in play comes with the introduction of the antes. Many players fail to make any adjustment at this stage when in fact it is an ideal point to switch up the speed of your play. Each time you can take down the blinds the pot is now sweetened and the risk/reward ratio begins to tilt in your favour. By keeping your raise amounts constant, but increasing your raising frequency, you can really begin to build your stack, providing you have set your image properly during the early pre-ante stages.

Another obvious stage of the tournament during which you should move up the gears is when approaching the money. Most players are wise to this tactic and so you should be very mindful of the makeup of your table. You need to spot which players are likely to make a situational light re-raise and whether these players are still to act when you are trying to apply maximum pressure to the shorter stacks.

Another time to consider changing gears is when your stack size changes. If you’ve been playing quite solid and have either chipped up without showdowns or have just won a significant pot and find yourself with a big stack, now is the time to press home your advantage. You should be using your newly acquired stack to put maximum pressure on your opponents. The fact that you have a tight image combined with your opponents’ fear of elimination can help you towards a serious run at the final table.

But while everyone loves having a big stack, you will more often find yourself playing with a short stack. When your stack reaches the 20 big blinds or less level you have to become much more selective about the hands and the situations you get involved with. At this stage, your primary objective should be to preserve your stack and wait for a good opportunity to double up. But if your stack size drops to 10 big blinds or below, it’s time to switch up the speed of your play.

You cannot allow the blinds to come through you while you wait for a premium hands. Push your stack in while you still have enough chips to pick up the blinds and antes uncontested. Pick your spots well, try to attack from late position where you have fewer people to get through, and don’t be afraid to shove with your connected or one gap hands, suited or unsuited. These sorts of hands have decent equity against the high card combinations that you are likely to get called by.

KEY POINT

Failing to increase your raising frequency when the antes are introduced is a huge mistake. You should also be willing to up the pace if you find yourself with a short or big stack at any stage

BE PREPARED

Whatever your natural style, the biggest mistake you can make is to play in any one set way. For every player that’s told me what a maniac I am, I’ve had someone call me a rock. Every tournament is different and within each tournament playing conditions are in a constant state of flux, so adapting your playing style to match the current climate is essential.

But there is some non-player dependent work you can do. A little bit of preparation before you start playing can make all the difference. Take time to have a look at the tournament structure. And ask the tournament director for the table breaking order so you can find out if your table is likely to be broken early. There is nothing more frustrating than setting someone up for a play that you never get to make when your table gets broken.

As ever, practising in smaller tournaments (especially online) is a great way to try out new things. Why not play a whole tournament in top gear, select your spots well and push the boundaries of what you can get away with. Next time try playing a whole tournament in a super-conservative style. You’ll be surprised at how many things you will learn and next time you come to play a bigger tournament you can mix together the best aspects of both styles.

Karl plays exclusively at www.bluesqpoker.com