Sun Tzu - Defeating Oppenents
“To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself”
Consider a scenario where your opponent has been playing very aggressively. It is not usually wise to assume that your opponent is bluffing just because he has done so on other occasions.
In this situation, re-raising your opponent should only be used as a course of action when you are holding a vulnerable hand. Even if you will give your opponent a chance to outdraw you, the number of chips that you will gain by allowing your opponent to bluff is far greater than the number of chips that you will lose by allowing yourself to be outdrawn.
When you decide to re-raise with a semi-strong hand like 6-6 or 7-7 and commit the rest of your chips to the pot, you will likely lose all of your money if you are against a higher pair. You will probably get the same result if you decide to play passively throughout the hand. There is no difference in the results no matter which method you choose if your opponent has the best hand.
The difference between the two methods lies in the results you will get when your opponent is bluffing. If you decide to re-raise and signify to your opponent that you have a strong hand, you are affording him the opportunity to cut his losses.
If instead you elect to call your opponent’s bets until the river, you will give him the opportunity to bluff on every street. In this case, you will be winning several bets from the other player that you never would have had the opportunity to win if you had raised. This is essentially a series of value checks.
Deciding to value check also gives you an opportunity to limit your losses on the occasions where the other player has the best hand. Many opponents will refuse to bluff more than once or twice at the same pot. Against these players, you may be able to recognize an opportunity to fold an inferior hand after a few rounds of betting. Your net loss in doing so will be less than your net loss if you had decided to just put the rest of your chips into the pot before the flop. What you have effectively done is give yourself an opportunity to increase the number of chips that you can extract from hands that you can beat, and decrease your losses when you are against hands that you cannot beat.
“When an invading force crosses a river in it’s onward march, do not advance to meet it at midstream. It will be best to let half the army get across and
then deliver your attack.”
When you have a strong hand that you want to use to set a trap for your opponent, it is important to remain patient throughout the early betting rounds. If you decide that you want to take the betting lead as soon as your opponent begins to show his aggression, you will afford him an easy opportunity to abandon the hand. If you do this, your profits will be minimal. Before you decide to attack, you need to let your opponent expose himself and his chip stack. This way the pot will be larger when you win the hand.
As a player, you should carefully consider the probability that your opponent does actually have a strong hand. If the other player has a strong hand that is still inferior to yours, raising that player is more likely to be the best decision. By attempting to slow-play and trick your opponent, you can actually cost yourself chips that you potentially could have won by building the pot. If the other player’s hand is weak, a tendency to call bets and value-check may yield higher profits.
