Simple Thoughts on Balance

Replay Poker Poker Strategy
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What does balance entail? Breaking your hands down into categories (grossly oversimplified, but hopefully still somewhat useful):

  • With the strongest hands, there will be bets of all sizes and checks
  • With the weakest hands, there will be bets of all sizes and checks
  • With strong hands, there will be bets around pot sized down to small bets, and checks
  • With weak hands, there will be bets around pot sized down to small bets, and checks
  • With good hands, there will be a mix of medium and small bets, and checks
  • With drab hands, there will be a mix of medium and small bets, and checks
  • With marginal hands, there will be a mix of smell bets and checks

What’s the point of balance? It’s mostly defensive, to keep more observant players from exploiting patterns in your play. If your opponent doesn’t seem to change his patterns of play based on what you do, there’s much less incentive to try and balance your play.

1 Like
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Yay for balance! Balance FTW!

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Digression, but can I just say that I remain absolutely fascinated by players with a “defensive” style like LedZeppelin. I don’t think i’ll ever be able to play like that! if i don’t have my crazy aggression to mess with people’s heads i’m not sure what skills I have left haha

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Unless at higher stakes, balance is less important but still semi important.

Also another way that can balance is to play positional poker, value late position. Only the BEST, Elitest players are going to pick up on that raise wide in late position, and super tight out of position. And that because 1. Its hard sometimes to even get dealt 45 suited in a spot in later position where raise. That can, does make one look like a NIT at times, but your really balanced in position. But because your opponent thinks your tight, unbalanced, when your actually balanced, the can exploit tight image. And if you get dealt 45 suited a lot in the right position, situation to raise it a lot, making the other players think your super loose, not balanced, the can exploit that loose image too, because are balanced, and not as super loose.

There is greater risk, too great a risk in being too balanced.

Take Rampage Ethan Poker Vlogger. He regularly PUNTS a LOT in Tournaments, so much so thjat usually he does well, not because he is a good player, as he is not a good player, but because he FISH DONK BUTLUCKS A LOT. Eventually variance will catch up to him later, and eventually he will lose a lot more then he wins over the long term.

he is a good example of a player that is TOO BALANCED.

So because of that, being balanced can be overated in tournaments.

Being balanced is more important in cash games, and less important, but still semi important at times in tournament play.

If going to be loose aggressive to be balanced in tournament play, then its important to do that the smaller ball poker way the way Phil Ivey, Negreanu, Doug Polk. Phil Galfond, etc play tournaments.

Note, that way is better saved for higher stakes, if going to do that, and not do that at micro to low to mid stakes

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A shortstop before the game takes grounders over and over.

The Replay poker player writes player notes over and over.

Both games begin and there’s a ground ball to short, a routine play.

At the RP poker table, all player notes on players at the table are surprisingly

still accurate.

However, one player known to fold a high percentage of times in a certain spot,

decides to continue.

This is like a bunt past the pitcher.

The shortstop is taken by surprise and has no play.

A simple thought!