Keeping Opponents Off Balance Part 1

Team PFT AA

This is the first article in a series about keeping players off balance at the poker table. Most of the strategy and advice will be directed towards no limit and pot limit poker. It can be very profitable to keep opponents off balance in limit poker as well, but keeping opponents off balance can be the very key to winning in no limit and pot limit poker.

The most popular form of poker today, especially for tournament play, is No Limit Texas Hold’em. If you are new to the game read Texas Hold’em Rules before reading any articles. No Limit Hold’em is an exciting form of poker because of "high risk-high reward" moves that can win or lose a ton of money in one quick hand. Many no limit players are very action oriented and love to put money into the pot. Being a very successful no limit player myself, I would like to share some of the ways I win by keeping players off balance.

In poker, getting off balance can be many different things. It can be best described as anything or anyone distracting you from playing your best poker. One great example of being off balance is when someone takes a really bad beat on the river for a huge pot. If this player lets the bad beat get into his head, it will effect his play and it can be very profitable to play pots against him. My advice is not intentionally to try and give players bad beats because that is not how to win money in the long run. That being said, out-drawing someone and getting really lucky is probably the best way to get them off balance.

Now take a second to think of a time you have been badly out-drawn on the river. All the money went into the middle and you had a 95% chance to win the pot when BAM! a two outer takes your entire stack. The player across the table rakes in a gigantic pot that you should have scooped 95 times out of 100. You decide to reach into your pocket and buy back in, and you start thinking about how you are going to get that player back, YOU are going to be the one outdrawing him on the river next time…

"How does this help keep opponents off balance" you ask? Here is the purpose of this first article: YOU need to be able to not go off balance, first and foremost, if you want to make money getting other players off balance. Poker is poker, and there is no defense against an out-draw. You have to realize that there is nothing you can do when the money is in the middle and there are more cards to come. Thinking that you are an unlucky player or that you always get bad beats is putting yourself off balance. Playing like this will all of a sudden give your opponents an edge over you.

Practice keeping yourself focused on the game, even when the bad beats come. The best players in Hold’em don’t even think twice when they get two outed. Not going on tilt is easier said than done, but with enough practice you will be able to handle bad beats better, and can really take your game to the next level. Part 2 of this series will go into some basic plays, while Part 3 will be advanced plays for getting your opponents off balance. Once you feel that you are capable of not letting a bad beat greatly effect your play, you will be ready to start using moves to get your opponents off balance.

Play against Team PFT AA on Titan Poker under the screen name tke1600.