Hi Speak Easy,
I agree with Lash that often, acting very weak (or very strong, for that matter) can be counterproductive, and can easily do more harm than good. Especially at the middle and higher limits, your opponents may look through your act, and you will accomplish nothing - other than looking like a jackass maybe. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]
Having said that, there is one situation where in limit poker I often (and deliberately) act a little weak, and this might work for you too. Let's say you are in a situation where you have a hand that may well be good, but if not has little chance of improving to the best hand (like a pair of aces / no kicker, with the possibility that you are up against a pair of aces / better kicker, for example). If you are up against someone who is known to bluff rather frequently, but who MAY actually have the best hand, you should often hesitate before calling both on theflop as well as on the turn, and through little gestures / through subtle facial expressions show that the decision whether to fold or to call is really a tough one. You do this to make sure that your opponent will keep on betting until the end, both if indeed he HAS you beat (in which case he would probably have bet anyway, regardless of any act you make or don't make), but also when he is on a stone-cold bluff, so that because of your actions he may feel that his bluff has a good chance of success. (So, you will win more if your hand is good, and lose exactly the same when it's not.) Make sure that you continue this act on the river, too, though, and even if you catch him bluffing show him that you are both relieved and surprised to have won, that you were *really* very close to folding. And of course, don't overuse this ploy, because if you do it too often some of your regular opponents will notice.
Also, I am not that big a fan of people who first pretend to fold, to then suddenly spring to life by raising, or people who try to act very weak when they have in fact flopped the absolute nuts. Especially when you are playing against the same group of players often, there is often a "proper" or "correct" way to behave, and while strictly spoken it is not against the rules, pulling these kinds of tricks will not make you very popular, and may also disrupt the atmosphere at a potentially profitable table. Of course, a little acting is OK, but those who ask for time on the turn, holding top full, are not the people I would ask out for a beer - especially not if they do this when up against a very nice and friendly but also inexperienced player, who may be truly offended by this kind of behavior.
Rolf Slotboom
www.rolfslotboom.com
(new site)