[Matt Flynn]

m3dude,

yeah i see what you're saying. kind of frustrating for me too because there is more to planning hands than what is in Volume 1. the biggest, which you're hitting on, is when you should ignore SPR concerns because other avenues of profit are worth more.

a couple hands skew towards commitment because that's what we're trying to teach.

not sure how you got weak tight? perhaps because the section emphasizes planning around commitment instead of stealing? or because we haven't discussed bluffing yet? weak-tight blows.


global concept: you win by making the best hand or by stealing.

SPR focused on make the best hand and provided a few examples about stealing. i.e., play for commitment or play against it. we lead with top pair b/c those are the hands that mess up beginner and intermediate players in 100bb games: when they hit, they still get screwed often enough that learning about managing implied odds helps the most. it also should be high in the thoughts of expert players playing top pair hands OOP against aggro opponents. that doesn't mean stealing isn't a big part of the game, nor does it mean that you automatically play for commitment OR against commitment. sometimes you have reasons to override planning around commitment and go with other strategies. for example, you might raise with AQ even thought it creates an SPR of 13 (or 8-10 if your de facto big bet is 2/3 pot instead of pot) if that raise makes you more money from stealing blinds or from stealing later in the hand than you lose from the bad commitment situation.

bottom line is do whatever you think will win the most money.

just not enough room in one book, and these concepts require careful explanation so less experienced players don't spew themselves into the poorhouse.

matt