Examining a style - Tight is Right
Posted: 2007-10-29 14:17:07
There are many styles in the game of poker, each of which comes with pros and cons. Picking a style that works for you and shaping it to your own will help make you a successful poker player. In this article I will discuss the pros and cons of the "tight is right" style. Although I believe it takes the harmony of many styles to be a long term success at poker, tight play should be the foundation of every player learning the game.
Pros-
Good table image.
Your image as a tight player can work in your favor. By playing rock solid poker your opponents often assume you must have a good hand, because you play so few. As the tournament progresses, this can be used to gain chips later in the tournament.
Blind stealing.
A tighter player may have an easier time stealing blinds to stay alive deep in a tournament than a loose player.
Easy decisions.
To me this is the number one reason a person should develop a tight foundation when learning to play. By only playing good cards your decision making becomes easy. The more hands you play, the more decisions must be made post flop, and therefore you open yourself up to more mistakes.
Cons-
You are at the mercy of your cards.
If you do not use your tight image to shift gears and gain chips as blinds and antes increase, your cards dictate your success. If you cease to get good cards, your chip stack will get eaten by the blinds and antes.
Not getting paid.
You may find that when you do make a hand, nobody will pay you.
Easy to figure out.
By only playing good cards, you make yourself somewhat transparent to your opponents.
I can't count the times I've seen the following scenario. A novice player, signs up for an online poker account. He's fresh off watching his first poker on television. He starts out his poker career playing from what he learned from the pros on TV. He's calling raises with suited connectors out of position and trying to outplay his opponent with over the top raises after the flop. What TV doesn't tell this player is that typically these tables he is watching are short handed (2-6 players) and that the blinds are so high that the action is crazy.
This is the type of poker player that I see everyday, and who isn't long for the game. Why? This player never built a foundation to learn on. He's playing a volatile game he has learned on TV from the world's greatest players. He isn't ready for these tough decisions.
I truly believe that for a player learning the game tight is right.
Allow yourself to learn the game a little better before incorporating tricky plays into your style.
Whenever my game is suffering it's usually because I'm playing too loose. I tend to play too many hands, calling raises with bad cards trying to out flop my opponent. Whenever I feel like my game is not on, this is the first place I look.
Coming soon UB will be having their second UBOC series. I am looking forward to this and hope my game is on for it. In a series of big field tournaments such as these, I believe patience will play a key role in how I do. With the structure being so good I plan on using the "tight is right" strategy early in these. I plan on using the early stages to feel the table out, establishing my image hoping to lay a trap for an early double. The first UBOC series last year was less than successful for me. I found myself in an early hole in most of the events, playing too loose. I plan on the opposite happening this year.
I guess it's back to basics for me.
Debo
