[Ghazban]

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Once in a while plays at NL100 are like saying "I usually prefer $20 to $10 but once in a while I like to take the $10. Just to mix it up." I never take that line in that game.

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I don't agree. From a player development standpoint, its good to take an occasional unorthodox line if only to give yourself experience with the situations that follow it even if it is less optimal from both an immediate EV and metagame standpoint to do so. It'll save money later when the player takes a non-standard line against smarter players in a bigger game.

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I agree with Ghaz. Plus mixing it up on one play might not make the most on that specific hand, but it does pay dividends over the course of the session by making your opponents make mistakes on future hands. A confused opponent is a profitable opponent. It doesn't make sense to mix it up against all opponents, becasue many won't notice or react in a +EV way. But to say that nobody will react in an +EV way is wrong. It's not like they aren't trying to win.

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This is not what I meant. TWP asserts that these players don't pay any attention (well, he didn't say that, but I'm inferring it) so any direct metagame effect is negligent. My comment refers more to the overall development of the player in question.

Let me make up an extreme example:

Bob plays .01/.02 NL and always openpushes AA preflop from any position. Players are so atrocious in the game he plays that this method makes him buckets of money as he gets called by A4o, K7s, and J3o on a regular basis. A few months pass and Bob has the bankroll at last to move up in limits. Now when he pushes his AA, its no longer optimal as he isn't getting the loose calls he used to get. So he makes a smaller raise and somebody calls him. Now he's never played AA postflop in his entire life so he's very confused about how to procede. Except when he flops the nuts, he has decisions to make and he doesn't know how to make them because he's never been in the situation before. Had he played a few flops with AA in his old .01/.02 game, he wouldn't be so lost now.

I'm not talking about metagame for a session or even for a stake level. I'm talking about overall development as a player. Putting yourself in situations comparable to those you'll face at higher stakes is worthwhile in the sense that it gives you some familiarity with those situations. Obviously, they may play out very differently at the higher levels due to the nature of the opponents you'll face there but you'll at least have a place to start.