what is good poker?

[nykenny]

I always believe poker is a situational game. it's a game of opportunities. and the best approach should be to try looking for those profitable opportunities and avoiding improfitable situations.

And that should not and CAN NOT be simply classified as tight aggressive. now i am not saying this is wrong. this is probably a good approach to the game by novices, because it makes things more predictible and easier to handle.

But for an expert (i am not one of them), there are situations that can be profitible that's outside of "tight-aggressive" style of play. for example, you know someone will lay down to a bet EVERYTIME he doesn't flop top pair or better regardless of situation, wouldn't it be very profitable to play against him heads up every opportunity you get? all you need to do is bet.

while that was an extreme example, my point is very simple: as long as you can show profit making a certain play, be it calling with J7o or reraising with 22 btf or betting with bottom pair on flop, that's infinitely better than not play this hand at all (profit = $0), RIGHT?

flame away please....

Kenny

[I.Rowboat]

To me, "playing good poker" implies making the best play in a given situation, the best play being defined as the play that wins the most money, most of the time. In that sense, poker is very situational. This is the tactical aspect of poker, and the need for better tactics increases as the quality of the competition increases.

However, there is a lot of repetition in poker. Hand to hand, round to round, hour to hour, you are repeatedly making a lot of the same decisions. How you approach the individual decisions in a collective sense is the strategic aspect of poker. "Tight aggressive play" is a strategy consideration -- by eliminating all but the best starting hands from positions x1-x3, for example, while relaxing these requirements in later positions -- these are strategy decisions that are intended to yield certain results over a much longer period of time. Solid strategy is a lot like good grammar and good driving: it allows you to function at a high level in society and it gets you where you want to go safely.

If you have a winning strategy, you should be prepared to deviate from that strategy when you sense that you have a tactical advantage over your opponent(s), such as the benefit tells, exposed cards, information from past sessions, etc., and that the reward for employing a tactical maneuver justifies the increased risk that is implied in deviating from a winning strategy. (There's no conflict if the tactic matches the strategy, e.g., raising with AA UTG.)

One of the biggest considerations in the tactics vs. strategy question is the issue of risk vs. reward. In limit poker, the nature of the beast virtually guarantees that you will have a showdown at the end of each hand, in which the best hand will be rewarded the pot. So strategy considerations such as positional play and starting hands are intended to maximize the possibility that you will either be leading at a pot with the best hand or getting good odds if you have a drawing hand. Successful tactical manuevers can decrease your degree of risk, increase your opponents degree of risk, or win you the pot outright without having to proceed to a showdown. But these exist as adjuncts to a winning strategy.

In big bet poker, tactical considerations play a much greater role, because the upside of winning a single hand vs. the downside of losing a single hand can be so large. But in limit poker, many hands are going to go to the river, and the best hand will win the money. This is why a good strategy is at least as important as good tactics.

[nykenny]

Good post I.Rowboat. Very insightful "Tactics vs. Strategy" analysis. Thanks!

Kenny

[Duke]

You're right. Why do you think that "it depends" so much? Every round of betting could be played in a different "mode" at times.

~D

[Mackie]

Yes you are looking for profitable opportunities. You can also manufacture future profitable opportunities by sometimes playing hands in a less than optimal fassion. As you move up in limits this becomes a more important aspect of good poker, IMHO, because the other players are more aware and are more likely to remember what you have done in the past. It is particularly true if you will be playing against the same opponents in future sessions, but often setting plays up will pay off in the same session.