Since this is the 145th installment of Improving Performance, if you've been a regular reader then you would know my answer to the title's question, is tight really right? I've probably intoned over the last five years that in limit hold 'em, tight is right at least one hundred and forty five times!
The real key to this question is, what kind of tight are we referring to? Can you be too tight? Too tight usually indicates a weak player with little heart. We all should know that tight-aggressive play is generally the correct formula for limit hold 'em, and today we'll explore how to beat those weak-tight, passive players. They're the rocks who just sit there and wait for premium hands and never mix up their games.
First, you must identify the player as weak-tight. I know it would be easier if it was mandated that all players were required to wear name tags identifying their style of play. Imagine tags such as "Hi, I'm a maniac," or "Hi, I'm tight-aggressive." Yeah, it would be easier, but figuring it out on your own isn't that difficult and why have the rest of the table gain free information? Let's look at some common attributes that weak-tight players share along with the appropriate strategy to exploit their playing styles.
First, weak-tight players don't play very many hands and many times will just limp-in hoping to see the flop cheaply so they can exit quickly if they don't catch a piece of it. Assuming they have not shown any aggression, you should be able to bluff at them quite liberally.
Second, if they do get frisky with a raise before the flop, they often just check it to the river if they miss the flop when holding over cards such as a Big Slick. This is a classic weak-tight move... they rarely make continuation bets if the flop doesn't hit them. Now you can bet or raise with a wide variety of hands and expect them to fold.
A third trait of these truly puts the scare into the term scare card. They epitomize the sniper syndrome in that they fear the worst at every turn. They tend to fold quickly when presented with aggression, especially when a scare card lands, and you should react aggressively to scare cards by betting when an ace hits the board, even when you don't have one.
If a weak-tight opponent plays back at you, it is time to retire because they don't make moves. They only bet or call when comfortable that they have the best of it. This trait leads to a fourth one and it's this: if they are in it, they can win it. This means that you need to respect their holdings if you can't make them muck. If they bet the flop or turn consider giving them credit instead of your chips... it's a lot cheaper.
So there you have it, the four most common traits that weak-tight players embrace. They are easy to spot... it's almost as if they are wearing one of the name tags that I joked about earlier.
Our goal for today's time together is to first identify the weak-tight player, then understand the nuances that make up his playing style and exploit those traits with the appropriate counter strategy. The three key words for success in this endeavor are... Identify, Understand, and Exploit! Let's call it the IUE strategy.
See you next "TIME"
Tom "Time" Leonard has played poker in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and California for more than 30 years and written about the game since 1994. Contact Tom at thleonard@msn.com.
