Picking your spots for loose play

[triplc]

After the excellent thread on Logic and Patience, one thing that seems to be lying underneath the surface of the discussion is the ability to determine when it is time to play with "less than premium hands". We've all seen players like Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, Layne Flack and Phil Ivey throw raises into a pot with hands like 42o, 94s and similar. It is very difficult to determine, due to the fractured nature of the television broadcasts, the context in which these plays are made, the thought processes behind these seemingly bizarre plays, or the frequency with which these plays are made.

So, what are the factors that pros use to determine when the time becomse right to gamble a little with lousy starters, or take a shot on a draw even when the odds aren't there? I'll take a stab, and would love to hear from others.

1. To change gears, or loosen up your table image. If you've been playing tight for a while, you might gamble a little to loosen up your image to get paid off when you get a real hand.

2. Hitting a lucky flop (or turn) with garbage cards or a draw can often bring in a big pot. Phil Ivey seems to do this with little pocket pairs a lot. The hand in which he got bounced at the WSOP was a good example of this. Moneymaker had three queens after the flop and Ivey calls a sizeable bet with pocket 9's. His 9 hits and gets Moneymake all in and only an ace on the river busted him. In other words, implied odds are potentially huge when coming from behing on a draw or with an inferior hand.

3. The level at which you play. Playing a $10 SnG is a lot different from playing at (or trying to get to) the final table of the WSOP. You have to be less deceptive at the lower level because the other players probably won't be as observant about your play, so you don't need to gamble as much.

I'll start there. I think things such as stack size, blind level, number of people at the table and other such things have an influence as well. What about the game theorists who might randomize their play and take a stab at every nth pot just to keep the other guessing. I'm rambling now, so I'll stop and listen to what other have to say.

CCC

[PrayingMantis]

I'll take a stab.

I think that raising with garbage, for impled odds reasons and for image purposes, will not work at SNGs for a few reasons. First, the money is much too shalow for raising with crap. You will end up bleeding all you have. Second, your opposition will see you play only a short amount of time. SNGs are short. If you're not hitting big, there's not much point in doing it. And third, you want people to respect your raises (this has to do with the first reason), so you'll be able to steal more without showing hands, only by using your "tight" image. Raising too much with garbage, will not help you in that.

PrayingMantis