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We have all been on those tables where there is the type of player who raises every hand and reraises everyone’s bets. They always seem to be the player who is taking down the pots. So, how do we beat the bully?

Yogesh “eL_Yogi” Chandarana takes a look at two strategies….

Whether you play online or live; tourneys or cash games, eventually you are going to come up against a bully. Typically, the bully is going to play a loose-aggressive brand of poker, raising up any two cards in any position and hammering away at pots.

As with all playing styles in poker, this type of play does have advantages: namely, bullies will tend to pick up a lot of small pots, dominate the action and shake down the weaker, more passive players. Famous pros with this style of play include Gus Hansen (plays under the name: Gus Hansen at FullTilt), Daniel Negreanu (KidPoker at PokerStars) and Patrik Antonius (Patrik Antonius at FullTilt) – its worth having a look at the PokerTableRatings database to see their playing style.

So, the million dollar question: how do we beat them?

One of the best answers I have come across has been given by Dan Harrington (WSOP Main Event winner in 1995) in his famous series of books – Harington on Hold’Em. Although written for tournament play, the strategies can be successfully applied to cash games.

Strategy 1: Rope-A-Dope

This tactic is best suited when you have a big hand. The basic idea is that – given that bullies like to smash away at pots – we should give them the rope, let them do all of the betting and let them hand themselves.

Obviously you need to feel the texture of the board to assess that this is a safe at the time. For example, if your hand is vulnerable you might want to abandon this strategy and bet out to protect your hand. But if you flop a monster (flushes, a full house, or indeed an over-pair that appears to be safe) then this strategy can pay some very large dividends.

It is likely to be more effective when you have position on your opponent and you are heads up with them (more opponents will mean that your hand is more vulnerable). If you are in early position, you also need to ensure that you are likely to get paid off. There is nothing like having a monster hand in early position, check-calling and then not getting paid off on the river because you didn’t value bet.

Have a look at your opponents betting style: does he give up aggression on the flop? Does he continuation bet? If called on the flop, will he fire multiple bullets and bet the turn? Does he try river bluffs?

By keeping a close eye on your opponents betting sequences, you will be able to learn this information. You can also use the PokerTableRatings player database to replay hands and get a clear picture of your opponents betting style.

This is a move away from the more traditional view that we should bet and raise with our premium hands as oppose to checking and calling. However, laying this trap out for the bully can pay off very nicely.

Strategy 2: The Hammer

Fighting fire with fire. Contrary to what you may believe, bullies hate aggression. This was true in the playground at junior high and it is the same on the highest stakes tables in Vegas. They love to dish it out, but, they hate it when it is thrown back at them.

As you can probably guess, the hammer involves reraising the bully and putting the pressure back on them. If you are in an early position this could mean check-raising if you flop favourably, or betting out if your hand needs protecting. Indeed, even if you didn’t connect with the flop it still may be prudent to try a strong continuation bet. If you have position on the bully then try putting in a strong reraise behind them if they bet (try three to five times the amount that the bully initially bet out).

Useful to note: beware if your hammer bets are called by the bully. The likelihood is that the bully may have hit a set, be on a draw, calling with a weak pocket pair, or even a high ace that didn’t hit etc.

This strategy works well when you have a premium holding (e.g. a big pocket pair) or a strong draw (e.g. a flush draw with AK suited). It is very rare that pocket pairs will always get to showndown on the river and win, especially if there is a synchronised board. In this scenario, you may want to consider The Hammer to take down the pot while you are ahead.

With big draws, this strategy will allow you to get more money into the pot and subsequently gives you better drawing odds on later streets. Further, the bully may give up (which happens a lot more than you will believe) giving you an opportunity to either take down the pot there and then, or if you are called, to try a bluff on a later street (especially if you have position and it is checked to you).

Which one of the two strategies you should employ depends on a number of factors, for example: your position, your table image, your stack size and, most importantly, your read on your opponent. If you have fully considered the tips that we mentioned above then it will become obvious to you which strategy would be best. However, never be consistent with one tactic otherwise you will soon become easy to read. Mix it up to always keep your opponents guessing.

Hold’em together!

eL_Yogi

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 11:52 am and is filed under Hold'em. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.