Represent - The Tao of Texas Hold’em? - Game Theory
In his book, Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’Em (published by Collins, and adapted from Play Poker Like the Pros“>Play Poker Like the Pros), Phil Hellmuth talks about the 5 animals that most poker players seem to fall into, in terms of playing behaviour. Being new to Texas Hold’em, I’m not sure yet if I fully subscribe to this theory, but it seems to make sense.
His five poker animal types, that he feels are the most common, are the eagle, mouse, elephant, jackal and lion. I won’t get into the nuances of each. Suffice it to say that each animal has its own playing (that is, betting) behaviour. Some are more predictible than others. The two that stand out for me are the mouse and the jackal. The mouse only raises on certain hands - fear the mouse’s raise. The jackal raises on everything, perpetually obscuring their hand, but becoming something like the class clown
The more I play Texas Hold’Em, and the more I read about it, it occurs to me that if you want to do really well, you not only have to learn to represent (targeted bluffing) certain hands, you also have to represent different animals in different games.
Novelist Stephen R. Donaldson wrote a series of books based on Wagner’s famous opera, The Rings of the Nibulungen, about a set of characters who unwittingly swap their roles during the course of the story. I’m putting forth the theory that you have to do something similar in Texas Hold’Em (maybe even all types of poker), and change your “animal”, but be in control of the change.
Using a similar analogy, consider the martial art of Kung Fu. There are several basic types, all of which are based on animals and their specific physical movements. For example, tiger, crane and snake. Each one moves differently. If you are sparring and you know that your opponent has been taught to follow the crane style of Kung Fu, you can predict their moves. But if they suddenly switch styles to, say, snake, and then to something else, they gain an advantage over you. A true master tries to learn several styles.
So, if everyone knows you’re a poker “jackal”, after a while, your perceptive opponents will know this and you won’t be as effective. On the other hand, if you switch up your role, say to a mouse, and then to some other animal, no one will know “who” you are. You’ve effectively cloaked your behaviour.
If you cannot be pegged as playing to a certain predictible behaviour, then it’s harder to beat you because you’ll be able to represent hands in different ways. Some animals never bluff. Of Phil Hellmuth’s five types, the few that do bluff, do so in different ways, at different times, and under different conditions.
So learn how and when to switch your playing style, at least in in-person tournaments, and you will very likely be on your way to becoming a master.
Technorati Tags: texas holdem, poker, cards, newbie poker, poker animals
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The Poker Blog » How To Lose Your Online Poker Bankroll - 15 Easy Steps
October 4th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
[…] (1) Don’t pay attention to the game. Watch TV at the same time, or talk to friends or text chat with other players.(2) Don’t pay attention, part 2. Don’t take notes on your poker games. As Kerry Mann points out in the article linked to, taking notes on all of your games helps you avoid making the same errors. But you don’t want to do that.(3) Play every single hand, no matter how bad. Phil Hellmuth calls this type of poker player a jackal.(4) Play hands randomly, or bet amounts randomly. If you’re just playing for fun or human company, stick to the home games with buddies. At least you can commiserate with people you know.(5) Go into a poker room with all of your money at the same time. I never take in more than 25-50% of my present bankroll. Some people take even less – as little as $30 (something Kerry Mann, linked to above, advocates. Kerry’s site says he earns an average of about $43/hour, so maybe you should pay him a visit.)(6) Ignore the odds on your hand. This kind of goes with steps 3 + 4 above. Some hands just shouldn’t be played, unless you are playing No Limit, and are in a tournament. But that’s not whate we’re talking about. If you want help with calculating your odds, read the articles about card odds on this site, and/or download your copy of Pokerbility software, compatible with several poker rooms. In fact, if you’re signed up with one of the accepted rooms, the software is free.(7) Play non-stop without food or breaks. Texas Hold’em in particular is a game of mostly logic and skill, as are other poker games. You do need to give your brain a break.(8) Get greedy. Win a lot a money and think that you’re invincible. You either end up playing too long and losing money, or getting cocky and playing bad hands. If you want to make money, take your profits and losses and move on to another game. Treat it like a business, and, in the words of Kenny Rogers, know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em.(9) Get greedy, part 2. Play multiple games at once. Before you’re ready. There are a couple of advanced players out there who have two or more large computer screens with multiple games going at the same time. They actually turn a profit. But they are at the stage where they can do this. Pay attention to your current, single game, then work up to multiples. (10) Go on tilt.. It happens so predictably, it’s frightening. If you lose a big chunk of your stack in one bad hand, don’t go all in with the remainder on the next hand. It is possible to recover from a big hit—if I can do it, you can, too. Take stock and use your brain, not your frustration. (11) Take it personally. Yes, when an opponent bets the exact amount of your stack, he or she is targeting you. Don’t rise to the bait; big-stacked players like to play mop-up. Patiently build your stack and wait until you have something viable before going up against them. (12) Play the remarkably-rising pre-flop lottery. The worst possible odds are pre-flop odds. If anyone bets big pre-flop, they may have a great pair, or an A-K suited . . . who knows? But a pair of aces loses to three twos, and it often isn’t ‘til the river before a given hand’s winner is truly decided. (13) Get sidetracked (or, take it personally, part 2). If you think someone’s bluffing, it’s quite possible; bluffing’s one of the best ways to increase your stack. But don’t bet on it. If you have a pair, there’s a flush draw on the table, and your opponent is betting like mad, there’s an excellent chance your opponent has a flush. Don’t bet all your chips trying to ‘out’ a bluffer, or you may find yourself an ‘observer’ instead of a player. (14) Hold on to that wonderful hand. A great mixed straight is beaten by the lowest flush. Even if you have an A,K,Q,J and 10 (clubs and spades), if four hearts are on the table, you have most likely lost. By all means, check, but betting hard here would be suicide. (15) Take an opponent’s advice. […]