Metagame

ajmargarine · #1 07-20-2005, 08:31 PM

First, where does this term come from? Magic the gathering? And what does it mean within the context of poker?

ajmargarine · #2 07-21-2005, 01:05 AM

Nobody? Is it adjusting your playing style to play the optimal style against certain types of tables?

pistol78 · #3 07-21-2005, 01:55 AM

Magic the gathering is a card game. NOt poker related.

randomstumbl · #4 07-21-2005, 03:35 AM

I have no idea how metagame came to be used in poker, but meta- is a common prefix. The metagame is composed of outside factors that affect the game, though they are usually not considered a part of the game.

Without bothering to look it up, meta- means outside of or beyond. For example, philosophy classes often study metaphysics.

pzhon · #5 07-21-2005, 02:03 PM

A metagame is a game built of games. In this case, the building blocks are the hands of poker. The metagame may be the session, or a series of sessions, perhaps involving the same opponents.

Metagame considerations mean that you make a play that you feel might not be optimal in a particular hand in order to gain information or to provide your opponents with misinformation. You might call a tiny river bet with the nut low, 22 on a board of 2AAAA, to figure out what your opponent's betting pattern meant. You might make a marginal bluff, then show it to encourage an opponent to tilt.

In practice, it seems to be used as an excuse for playing badly in the hope that your unobservant opponents will misplay more in the future, even though the game is breaking up.