My latest poker article, Fancy Play Syndrome, is now appearing in the October 2015 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine. It might be a poor title, because the argument is that many supposedly “fancy” plays are actually a part of fundamentally sound poker strategy:
In a recent $5/$10/$20 session, I made quite a few of what might be considered “moves” or “fancy plays”. I called turn and river bets with Ace-high. I floated the flop with bottom pair and bluff-raised the turn. I turned a set into a bluff on the river. I four-bet someone with a 5 in my hand and was prepared to six-bet shove, had my opponent raised back.
Although I got the result I wanted in all but one of these spots, I’m not bragging. These plays were not the result of any “sick reads”. I was not especially in the zone that night, nor was I suffering from Fancy Play Syndrome. In fact, these plays are all part of what I consider ABC poker – the way I play when I don’t have a laser-sharp read on my opponent’s hand or what he’s going to do with it.
It seems to be a common belief that big bluffs and heroic calls require reads or other special justification, such as having a certain image or being stuck. Game theory suggests otherwise.
“This goes to show the importance of building your ranges in the right way, and how a balanced range can profit from an opponent’s imbalances without knowing about or actively trying to exploit those imbalances.”
Love it!
“not to bluff with medium-strength hands, which will primarily fold out hands they are already ahead of and be called by hands they are behind.” Is that right?