In the first part of this series we discussed the general state of no-limit hold’em cash games and how things change as you move up through the stakes. Now we can look at some of the specific things higher stakes players are doing that lower stakes players aren’t. As discussed already, many players in today’s mid-stakes games understand the basic strategies needed to win, such as light three and four-betting, barrelling and so on.
However, to win at $5/$10 or higher you not only need to understand these strategies, you have to know how to apply them effectively and how to adapt or change them according to your opponents. In other words you have to be a thinking player, rather than an automaton simply applying the same strategies over a dozen tables at a time. Usually, if you watch videos of higher stakes players, you will find a constant stream of consciousness relating to their table image and that of their opponent, as well as general and recent history that make up the game flow. These are the kinds of considerations that decisions are filtered through in order to choose the best course of action.
Shifting gears
For example, three-betting is a standard action preflop, but you must pay attention to how frequently you are doing it and to whom, then note how they adjust to it. Perhaps you have decided to relentlessly three-bet a player on your right (or have just been dealt lots of good hands in quick succession). Now you can see if they start four-betting you or get otherwise frustrated, and if so wait for some better hands to three-bet with in the immediate future in the hope of getting paid. If any hands are shown you can also start to determine their four-betting range. If it is very polarised to only very strong hands for value (such as Q-Q+) and bluffs, you may be able to open up your five-bet shoving range since it is likely they will often fold.
Postflop you can make similar adjustments such as exploiting players who continuation-bet too much by check-raising more often. Or you might target players with other unbalanced tendencies such as playing weakly on the turn. There are countless areas that can be focused on, and in regular high-stakes players you will rarely find large leaks, but by detailed analysis and psychology you can look for areas to attack them in where they are vulnerable.
Read part I
Read Part III