Poker Basics - Mixed Strategies

Avoid being predictable by randomising when you have the choice between two good options.

We have previously talked about having a balanced range. That is the right mix of bluffs and value hands, so that you cannot be exploited. 

Another way top players avoid exploitation is by having a mixed strategy. That is when they randomise when they take certain actions to avoid being predictable. 

So instead of always betting with X hand and always checking with Y hand, they will bet some of the time and check some of the time with both. 

If you look at the hand range chart on the right this is a good example of a mixed strategy. The orange hands are bets and a hand like AA is bet 100% of the time. The green hands are checks and here K3s is always checked. Most of the other hands are sometimes bets and sometimes checks. 

A lot of the time the mix of actions is still determined by your actual hand. In the example above KK might be checked when you have a flush blocker but bet when you don't, or vice versa. 

Avoid being predictable

Other times the actions will be purely randomised when both options are good. You would never randomly fold AA preflop for example, but you might sometimes limp with it if you expect a similarly positive expectation to betting. 

Some serious poker players use random number generators to determine when to take a random action. More practically, others will look at a clock on the wall and, for example, if the seconds hand is between 30 seconds and 45 seconds might take the less frequent option. If the seconds hand is anywhere else they might take the 'standard' option. 

How important is it to have a mixed strategy? Early on, not very. There are more important things to learn and at the lower stakes your opponents won't really notice anyway. 

But as you climb the stakes the players take more notice of your actions and it becomes more important. If your opponents can never confidently put you on a range because you have surprised them a few times in the past, you will be very difficult to play against. 

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