In part 2 of this series, ‘Targeting leaks at the high-stakes tables’, we looked at some of the specific areas you might be able to use to exploit strong players. However, as you move up you will also find that your edge reduces and your variance skyrockets, particularly in aggressive games where players are prepared to four and five-bet light and there is an increased number of preflop all-ins. For this reason you have to pay even more attention to game selection, since you will be unlikely to have much of an edge against the best players. Of course, from time to time you may want to challenge yourself by playing them for the experience and to improve your game, but for the most part you should be focusing on your primary task: finding and playing weaker players.
Unfortunately, the new wave of higher stakes hold’em players has swung the ratio of regulars to fish unfavourably in the last couple of years, so you will need to have some firm reads on your regular opponents as well. In the absence of softer targets, exploiting other regulars is an increasingly important part of the high-stakes player’s game. Knowing how people are faring overall in their games is important too, since a downswing or bout of tilt can swing things significantly in your favour for a short period.
Reviewing and reworking
As discussed previously, small tendencies can still be very exploitable even in regular players. Make sure you build up a databank in your notes or elsewhere with key information that you think you can use to your advantage.
The standard of high-stakes six-max no-limit hold’em in the current climate isn’t as easy as it once was, so you may wish to explore other variants that are out there like Omaha or deep-stacked games, since there is much less information available about them and fewer players have managed to play a huge number of hands. And as ever, you should remember that the games you play in are not static, and you will need to constantly review and rework your own game and approach if you want to experience long-term success.
Read Part II