Adapting to the changes in today’s game
It seems like these days the game is changing almost daily. With all the training sites and tracking software even the somewhat bad players are picking spots to 3 bet light and adapt better to being isolated and outplayed postflop.
In general in the past couple of years the games gotten alot tougher. Here’s some thoughts on how to stay somewhat ahead of the ‘curve’.
Avoiding ‘rules’
It seems nearly all regs in the mtt community who have had some form of success obey ‘rules’. Ie .. Not raise folding with 20bbs or less, not 3 bet folding with 30bbs or less, not flatting an open with 30bbs or less (apart from with big trapping hands). Obviously these rules were made because it was a winning strategy , but these days in order to best the higher stakes I think it’s a must to step outside of the rules barrier and try some new things, such as 3 betting with stack sizes less than 30bbs with the intention of folding vs good thinking regs. Also flatting opens and 3 bets with a wide range of stack sizes is important.
Experimenting with bet sizing
I think pre flop sticking to the standard 2x-2.5x once antes kick in is pretty good. I think min raising is good in the later stages when stack sizes get shallower as long as it’s successful vs your opponents. One thing iv been trying recently is c-betting tiny with or without hands, iv had mixed results with it but it can be very effective when you do have a hand as it will induce raises and floats.
One thing which has always been important is getting your bet sizing right on the flop and turn in order to have a stack size left to shove the river. When bluffing recently iv been experimenting with betting smaller on the turn that usual in order to set up a bigger river shove as I think it gets more folds. If you bet half pot turn and river I think you have more of a chance of being called easier than if you you bet 1/4 pot turn and close to full pot river.
Clicking it back
The term clicking it back means raising someones bet the minimum amount. It can be used successfully both pre and post flop. I think it’s very effective as stack sizes get shallower and shallower pre flop as it allows you to 3,4 and 5 bet more than you would making a standard raise.
Post flop I think it works well in spots where you c bet a flop/turn and get raised when you think there’s a large possibility they are bluffing, as when you click it back it looks very strong and you risk the smallest amount possible in doing so.
With the ever changing game and ever improving players it’s important to and ‘mix’ it up and try adapt as best you can.
