Don't make the same mistake twice

[liladypokerpro]

I read recently where a player was stealing blinds by shoving and decided to show a bluff hand after doing so. Immediately after that he was dealt AA and pulled the same exact move as he did with the shown bluff. Of course this got him into a sticky situation where he inevitably ended up with a multiway pot and his aces got cracked rather easily.

A lot of newer players tend to stick to a routine, and that is one thing you've got to get yourself out of. Don't repeat yourself in a way that will be easily readable and don't make the same mistakes twice. This is sound advice and you should repeat it to yourself until you truly understand the meaning of it. Being aggressive is fine, but don't make a routine habit out of it because there will be players who will exploit it and leave you packing your bags and heading home.

This particular guy made a mistake by showing a bluff and repeating the same move with a good hand that he used with a poor hand, resulting in an Epic Fail. As I've said in many of my writings, showing too many hands can and will bite you in the end. The above is a prime example. People remember the negative more than the positive. And poker players especially are very retaliatory when it comes to someone bluffing them out. They are stuck on making sure they beat the bluffer back and show him "who's boss."

Both of these mentalities are dangerous. It's dangerous to get into a routine mindset and it's dangerous to be set on retaliation. Both of these instances will yield poor results. There are ways to be profitable without constant aggression, and there are ways to retaliate against a poor player without being bent on it. Being bent on retaliation is no different than being on tilt...and will be just as damaging.

I still firmly believe that keeping good player notes and forming solid reads on your opponents is the key ingredient to successful poker. Learning to read opponents should be the basis for your strategy. But as with baking a cake, you need more than one ingredient to make your bankroll rise. As with building a house, you need a solid foundation before you can begin the building process. So get your foundation good and solid and then begin working up a strategy that is profitable for you.

EDIT: Okay since there seems to be some confusion as to the specifics of when this happened and how many callers there were, I thought I should elaborate here: This was in an MTT, and he ended up getting 4 callers due to his previous shown bluff and his repetitive "shove-fest" tactic. Hope that helps...

[HeyKidMove]

I agree that you shouldn't be showing too many hands, and myself personally don't show unless it's quads or a straight flush, just because I want people to see that. But I have to disagree with the example that you gave. In that case, I believe the plan worked perfectly. He showed a bluff and then got his money in good with AA because people no longer respected him. It didn't work out that time, of course, but it was a good play anyway. If he would have repeated the play bluffing again, I would say it was a bad play.

[liladypokerpro]

I have to respectfully disagree there...getting your money into a multiway pot with AA is not getting it in good...AA fares miserably in multiway pots.

[HeyKidMove]

I have to respectfully disagree there...getting your money into a multiway pot with AA is not getting it in good...AA fares miserably in multiway pots.

I know that getting AA in a multiway pot isn't the best situation, but you still have the best chance to win. I'm saying the goal of showing that bluff is to get action with a big hand later because nobody will respect the raise later. He would have achieved the goal because he got a lot of action on the next hand when he got AA.

[gamer4life27]

Aces will only hold up ~40% of the time to 4 other people in the hand (that is, with pocket pairs, suited connectors, etc. and assuming that no one has each others cards). That's like being on the bad end of a coin flip situation. You do NOT want to get into a multi-way pot with pocket Aces.

MAYBE 3 other people, as you will still only be a ~55% favorite to win, but not more. So getting into a multi-way pot (meaning 3 or more people) is VERY bad. 1 caller, definitely. 2 callers, maybe. 3+, prepare to be cracked.

I know that getting AA in a multiway pot isn't the best situation, but you still have the best chance to win. I'm saying the goal of showing that bluff is to get action with a big hand later because nobody will respect the raise later. He would have achieved the goal because he got a lot of action on the next hand when he got AA.

Yeah it was his intentions, but he made a mistake by showing the bluff. If he didn't show the bluff, and did that same move again, he would have gotten action, but not as much since people would still be scared. If he didn't show his cards, he probably would have gotten action, but not as much and most likely would have won the hand.

[phaul]

I completely agree with HeyKidMove; this is a perfect example of when showing cards worked perfectly, as he garnered a lot of action with a good hand. Personally, if I can invest 20% of the pot to get 40% equity, I will do so every time. This situation is only dangerous when you can't lay down your hand. Just use some pot control, fold when you think you're not getting odds against their range and you'll be fine.

However, having said that, I think showing the steal is bad as most of the time you won't get a monster next hand and will want to steal again, either next hand or next orbit.

[HeyKidMove]

I don't think it's ever possible for it to be a bad thing to get AA all in preflop. Even if you win 40% of the time with 4 callers, you're only putting in 20% of the money so it's +EV. I agree that you shouldn't show hands as I said before, but I think the example shows an instance where it worked perfectly.

[liladypokerpro]

Looks like this could turn into a juicy debate...good to see varying opinions on this...

[phaul]

I don't think it's ever possible for it to be a bad thing to get AA all in preflop.

You can construct examples, say in a satellite with 10 seats available and 11 runners left, you're second stack and the big stack shoves, next hand someone is allin blind, it's a pretty easy fold. In a cash game though you're probably right. Just thought I'd be nitpicking.

[liladypokerpro]

Okay since there seems to be some confusion as to the specifics of when this happened and how many callers there were, I thought I should elaborate here: This was in an MTT, and he ended up getting 4 callers due to his previous shown bluff and his repetitive "shove-fest" tactic. Hope that helps...

[HeyKidMove]

I could be disagreeing here simply because I'm a cash game player almost strictly. I was just thinking about it from the stand point of a MTT and can see how it would be a bad thing depending on what stage of the tournament, if the bubble has burst etc. I was simply looking at it from an EV standpoint, which it would be +EV.