Allow him to play perfectly against you...

[pricklypete]

I keep seeing this phrase on the mtt strategy forums "if you do so and so action you will allow your opponent to play perfectly against you" but I'm not quite sure what it means. Could someone clarify and perhaps give an example. I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
I keep seeing this phrase on the mtt strategy forums "if you do so and so action you will allow your opponent to play perfectly against you" but I'm not quite sure what it means. Could someone clarify and perhaps give an example. I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]
Suppose you have KK, and push all-in preflop for 100 BB. A lot of players will recognize that as representing a huge amount of strength, and they will fold QQ and AK. Whether they fold KK or not doesn't matter much, but they will call with AA. That means you have helped your opponents get out of the way when they have worse hands, but you will still get called every time your opponent has a better hand. So, you didn't get any value out of weaker hands, and you didn't get any better hands to fold. You have only protected your share of a tiny pot. Your average result will be worse than when you take other lines that do not tell your opponent what you have.

Similarly, let's suppose you have KQ, and you think your opponent has AA, KK, QQ, or AK, and a king comes on the flop. If you bet out, you feel your opponent will call with the hands that have you crushed, and will fold QQ. In that case, betting out will allow your opponent to play perfectly against you, and it would probably be a mistake. If you feel your opponent would react that way, and you bet out with a flush draw, your line is more reasonable, since you might bluff out someone with QQ. If you have KQ, you might consider checking and calling, or checking and folding the flop, but betting the turn for value if the flop is checked through. These might get someone with QQ to put in more money than they would if they knew your hand.

[bigblackbuddha]

Exactly what phzon wrote, but to clarify it means that your play puts you on such a narrow range of hands that the other player can make the correct decision as if you flipped your cards over. No worse hands are ever going to call and no better hands are ever going to fold.