Weekends at The Vic, is there anywhere else you would want to be when you are running good, stacking fish, and building towers? I really don't think so.
Cash games plays deep, its not uncommon to have an average stack on a £1-£2 game of 200-300BBs.
These games can be incredibly profitable, as most of the weekend / recreational players do not know how to manage / play with a deep stack.
They often back themselves into awful decisions, and make mistakes (however little mistakes they are you know what they say; if you make less mistakes than your opponents you win and they lose).
How many times have you seen some poor guy sitting there with £500-£600 one minute, only to crumble and lose the lot before the end of the night? I see it happen frequently.
But then again its part of the excitement for them, and they are often content with the outcome of the night (if maybe somewhat disappointed). I play to make money, some play to pay the bills, and some play for the entertainment value.
Understanding, profiling your opponents is crucial, and should be factored into each decision and thought process.
I often watch Peter (Singleton), both observing and talking (often probing), players to analyse them, he is able to label / profile opponents, and has "default" plays versus different players.
When I get "deep", I will firstly make a decision whether to continue to play or not. If I decide I want to play, then I have to completely accept the realities that lie ahead, significantly the fact that I may lose a big pot!
If I am willing to lose, I am willing to play. However there is no shame in calling it a day, and booking a nice win. That doesn't make you any less of a man, or that you cant play deep.
When I get deep I make a number of adjustments, most fundamental one being bet sizing (both pre flop and during post flop play), inexperienced players will not make these adjustment and will often either offer exploitable odds / value, or fail to build pots with big hand. Bet sizes should be dictated by the stacks in play, not the strength of your hand.
I also avoid putting myself into marginal spots when I am playing deep. This does not necessary mean I tighten my range (as obviously the implied odds when playing equally deep stacked opponents allow you to play a much wider range profitably), but what I will do is simplify the line that I take,I will avoid being deceptive.
This takes out the "leveling" process, with so much to worry about (non more so important than manoeuvring a +200BB stack) I find it essential not to appear overly deceptive.
I don't think I am articulating this very well, but imagine you get yourself in a spot, where your opponent has check raised you on the turn, and you are pretty much faced with a decision where you are going to be playing for a big chunk of your stack (if not all of it).
If you played your hand deceptively on previous streets, you have got to figure out the following things based on his interpretation of your line:
How deep thinking is your opponent? What does he think I have? What does he think I think he has? What does he think I think that he thinks I have? So on...
If I had taken a standard line, raised pre flop, bet the flop so on. It is simple, you don't have to over think, if you are raised, he has a strong hand (as I have shown strength myself), or is outright bluffing (which does not happen as often as you would think). Either way the decision is a lot more clearer.
Ammm, I still don't think I have managed to explain this (probably for the best as so some of you fish who are reading this wont be able to exploit me!).
That's all for now, time for some Call of Duty! Weeee....
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