a discussion on tempo

asofel · #1 10-10-2005, 02:57 PM

Tempo has been brought up in a few posts today and I can't recall seeing a post that focuses on it. I think there are a couple situations and guidelines that are worth discussing.

1. In the examples from today (Tommy's post and TxRedman's) if the original tempo was kept the bettor has the best chance of being trusted. This makes sense and feels like a fundamental guideline to betting.

2. A fake pause: someone mentioned this in the HUSH forum, and I've seen it to often be true. A "hmm...tough decision here...pausing....ok re-raise" type situation in which the classic weak means strong rule applies.

In general it seems like straightforward maintenance of tempo is believed more than any deviation, while pauses, especially dramatic pauses, are often acting attempts. I'd love to hear others thoughts on this if there's anything more interesting to say.

#2 10-10-2005, 04:26 PM

I can only add the obvious - its easier to take longer about an easy decision than it is to make a hard decision quickly. Since playing more live I've started noticing tempo more. I space out on my easy decisions once in a while to try and avoid ever being in tempo or looking like I'm thinking too hard [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

asofel · #3 10-10-2005, 05:16 PM

I do realize this is fairly obvious and straightforward. I was curious though as to how many people try to make use of this in their play. I know online I'm more likely to call someone down quickly (and let them bet quickly) as quick betting often seems to have weak results.

On the flip side this also often seems to work the best for me as weak players see the strong tell for the truth rather than an act. Probably obvious and not that interesting...thanks for the thought.