Player specific plays you use

[JJNJustin]

Apart from playing your cards, etc, often times it is important to use player specific strategies, especially if you have a good sense of what your opponent has and how they play.

For example, a weak-tight player raises with what you know is AK, you call with atc, the flop comes all rags, you have no pair, you check, he bets, you c/r with air, he folds or just calls. You lead the turn, he folds.

There are many examples, some on the other side of the spectrum- callin down a bluffer with A high or a small pair.

The main crux of these types of plays is knowing your opponent, his cards, and his specific playing weaknesses.

List some that you use. I, myself, dont use nearly enough, and I suspect that most of you dont either.

-J

[James.]

i'm in the sb, there's an aggressive but decent player on the button and i(for whatever reason)have a tight image, i will checkraise the button with any two cards on alot of boards if it checks through to him and he bets. this often works best in an unraised pot without alot of calling stations between you and the button. that's a bad example, maybe i can think of a better one. when the situation presents itself numerous times in a session it can be profitable if not overused.

[Bob T.]

There isn't really a group of player specific plays that I use, but there are a lot of situations that come up, that I think I can use.

I try and keep track of the sequences that we used, and what the results are. Then if we get a similar board, and sequence going, I assume that my opponent is clever enough to put me on the hand that I had last time. Then I try and try and take advantage of what I hope is his misperception, and bend the hand so that he makes a mistake. That might be giving me too much action, or maybe folding in the wrong spot, but I just try and use what he knows about me to draw him into a bad place.

If that happens once or twice a session, and the play comes off right, I figure I've probably won at least two or three theorhetical bets, and hopefully they add up into real bets at some point in time.

For example, earlier in the session, I bet and threebet top pair. Now, I have a set against the same player. I will bet, and threebet again, and hope that he reads me for top pair, and if an overcard comes, maybe I can get a couple more bets than I should have out of the set.

Or maybe, I have a flush draw, and I do the same thing up front, now I can bet the turn, and he might lay down TPBK, or MP because he thinks he can put me on top pair.

Or, the other way around, I do have top pair, I will try and use a different sequence, and now he thinks I have a different hand and when he figures out what that is, he might not play accurately against the hand that I do have.

A situation occurred today in a live 1-2NL game. A player opened for 12, and a chill went up my back. I had a decent hand, but instead of raising, I smoothcalled, another player reraised, and the first player popped it again. It turned out that he had Aces. A little later on, the first player opened for 12 again, but I didn't get the chill. A horrible player coldcalled, and I reraised for a squeeze play. One of my friends who was sitting at the same table, said it looked like the guy just found out I had killed his cat, he agonized and folded, and the horrible player also folded. He made the same bet, but I got a different feel, and played it like a different situation. I just wished that I had folded the first time before all the reraising.

[hazillow]

I've only limp/re-raised with AA or KK like three times in my life, and one of the times happened two days ago. I've seen this guy raise on the button the last four orbits when there's been one or two limpers. I'm in hijack and I find KK. I am 85-90% sure he will raise the button, so I call. The guy in CO is a loose/passive nimrod that will call with any ace or face in any position, and he calls. Button - surprise! - raises and action is back to me. I make it three and CO cold calls. Button caps and I'm not really scared as I've seen him cap with ATs and luck out a few hands prior. Flop is Qxx rainbow. I check, CO checks, button obv. leads and I check-raise him. CO cold calls and button calls. I lead turn and river. CO has Q8o and button has 66 and I scoop a lot more than I would have if I just raised pre-flop.

Like I said, this is a very rare play for me, but the situation was perfect for a limp/reraise.