Varying Pre flop play

In HEFAP and other such books, authors often suggest varying your preflop play. i.e. S&M suggest occasionally rasing with T9s or 88 etc.


I employ this strategy. At the start of every session I will often choose a suit that I am going to play a little differently.

For instance, one night it might be clubs,. So that if whereas I might usually call three limpers with JTs on the cutoff, if they are clubs I will now raise. same for QJc. I might even put in a raise in early position with this hand.


Was wondering if anyone else varies their play this way.


Note: I do a similar thing for pocket pairs. I might say to myself at the beginning of the evening that I will play my one colored pairs differently (i.e. 8d8h or 8c8S) than the other four combinations. So that I might raise red 7's in the cutoff wheras I would normally just call.


Thoughts and comments appreciated. I find it is useful of varying my play. It also provides discipline, since I like to make these play being constrained by suit or color assures me that I will not overuse them.

It sounds like a good idea, but the example of the 7's confuses me a bit. When you say that you usually call, but sometimes raise. What if there's one or two limpers, then a raise might not a great idea. If it's folded to you, do you usually just call in the cutoff. I'd raise almost every time, unless the button, sb, and bb were stations. Some games I might not throw the early raises in at all.

Jack,


I like the idea of varying ones play preflop but I fear that basing it on certain suits or matching colors may tend to defocus your play from the people aspects of the game.


I believe raising some hands like A10s in the cut-off with three limpers might be a good idea if the limpers are loose passives rather than say a mixture of some other styles.


In other words , mixing -up your play according to the texture of the game may be a more optimum strategy since it will confuse unsophisticated players and give you an edge against the sophisticated ones.


LBG

I think there's a misunderstanding of the word "varying" here. What's meant is to play the same hand differently at selected times.


Over the course of an 8 hour session, you'll see so many hands, and have so much opportunity to vary your play, that you can pick your spots a whole helluva lot better than absolute chance (suits, colors, etc.).


If you absolutely HAD to have some such device in place, you'd be best off selecting one based on which player(s) had already called or what position you happen to be in.


I think I would do everything I could to remove any decisions made purely upon chance.


Isn't that really the whole point?

Jack,


In Theory of Poker Sklansky discusses Game Theory. What you have described sounds like a spin off of some of those concepts.


Some of the other posters make a great point of advising you to try and vary your play according to your opponents and how they perceive your play.


I have just started to vary my play.


Sometimes when I play if I feel I have been raising too much, I might limp in with a hand like AK from UTG, especially in an agressive game where I know an opponent will raise. I also sometimes will call a raise with a hand like AK offsuit, rather than reraise if I feel that the re-raise wont accomplish anything other than getting more money in the pot.


Good post and best wishes


MK