Planning of a hand
Introduction
In this article
- Why you need a plan
- How to plan properly
- From controlled planning to planned control
- Analysis of your lines
This article will show you the importance of planning your hand. It will explain how to set up a plan and what you have to keep in mind. Furthermore, you will be introduced to different types of planning and you will see what hidden potential your current game approach still has.
Why do you need a plan?
This apparently simple question has to be answered to understand the bigger picture of the game. The great advantage of constantly having a plan lies in the theoretical background of playing poker.
Analytically speaking No-Limit Hold'em is nothing but a card game where you, the player, are faced with a number of different decisions that you have to make. These decisions should not be taken independently of each other.
When planning a hand it is of utmost importance that all decisions are based on each other. Not synchronising your decisions will give your opponent an advantage. You will generally make more wrong decisions in situations that are unknown to you.
Planning of a hand will firstly help you understand your entire approach to the game and it will further give you the opportunity to eliminate possible gaps to become an overall better poker player.
In the following section, you will see to what extent different approaches on planning by different players can be grouped together. It will also show which stages of development every good poker player will undergo while trying to improve his game.
Everyone who starts to play his first hands at No-Limit Hold'em is completely clueless about the different game concepts. He spends most of the time following the rules and staring at the colourful chips. Only in very rare cases has a player looked into theoretical approaches to the game before playing his first couple of hands.
The standard of knowledge of this type of player is very limited. He knows that a flush will beat a straight, and AA is one of the best starting hands to have and that AK is called Anna Kournikova (looks good, but doesn't win often). This player does not know anything about the game and literally stumbles from one decision to the next. He rarely thinks about what he wants to do in the next situation, let alone in the next street.
He does not know what a 'line' is. Funny enough he is the weakest player at the poker table but despite that, he is one of the hardest opponents. You have to expect the unexpected from him. He can check behind the nuts on the river, play three streets c/c with bottom pair no kicker, or on the river, when a blank comes up, all of a sudden he goes all-in with a five times pot size bet after two streets check/call.
The clueless player does not play to find a better strategy than his opponent to win his money in the long run. He just likes to gamble - the colourful chips, the thrill to go all-in, the possibility of 'letting your hair down' at the table - just to go back to a normal life after that.
This type of player is very similar to the clueless player. He generally does not know what EV, variance, polarised hand ranges, deception, merging, domination and similar poker terms mean.
However, he has a big advantage. He is aware of the fact that there are professional players who earn a living by playing poker. And because poker is only a simple card game he also wants to earn some easy cash. He is therefore looking for strategies to do so as well. He might be the type that can become a professional player, even though he has no inkling of what it means to play poker yet.
Poker charts that tell him how to play to secure a win are what he is looking for and he will frequently find these promises in the depths of the Internet. He will try different approaches but most of the time his problem is that he hasn't realised why he is doing certain moves. Most of the time, he also underestimates variance and plays very outcome-driven.
If he loses some money over a period of time, it is proof to him that the table he uses does not work and he will look for a new one. Unfortunately, most of the time he does not realise that in order to win in No-Limit Hold'em you can never fully rely on rigid static guidelines.
The average player managed to accept the fact that poker is not a simple game. He also knows that it is not an easy way of getting rich. The average player already has some experience in playing poker and through trial and error he developed his standard game where he can make decisions according to simple rules. From a planning perspective however, he is only able to play from one street to the next with the way he makes his decisions. He rarely sees the hand as a whole.
Oftentimes he has heard of important game theoretical terms but he does not know how these terms relate to each other. He is often not able to think about the game when he is away from the poker table. Unfortunately, he still thinks that he has learnt enough about poker through simple game experience, reading up on topics on Internet forums or watching educational videos online. His conviction is that he is able to become a high stakes player without using his brain too much.
An additional disadvantage that this type of player has, is that he hasn't yet fully understood the magnitude of hand reading. Therefore, he can't give his opponent a hand range and a lot of the time he hasn't thought about the opponent's hand at all, or he pre-determines it to a few very detailed hands.
During the stages of development of a poker player, he often comes to a point where he understands that poker is a simple game that can be viewed from a mathematical perspective. And with the help of Nash equilibriums, balanced lines and balanced hand ranges, merged hand ranges and other game theoretic approaches, he therefore tries to develop an optimal strategy, which will win against every opponent in every situation.
Fortunately, this kind of player knows that being successful at poker can be forced if enough time into advanced theoretical training is invested. He also knows that luck does not happen by accident but rather that it happens to those who work hard for it. If the player specialises on short stack play, then this approach is especially helpful in establishing a strategy for most situations and allows him to win mid and high stakes online.
The planner knows that one hand consists of several streets and he also understands that it is important to constantly tell an acceptable 'story' while playing a hand. He knows that the hand ranges are based on each other and that strategic approaches towards one direction oftentimes also have an impact on the game - with different cards in similar situations as well as with the same cards in different situations.
The biggest problem for him is that he rarely incorporates the metagame and general game dynamic into his decision-making und he therefore runs the risk of finding a perfectly balanced strategy. It's his highest priority to only find a standard strategy that works in a game theoretically optimal way for long-term winnings without incorporating the psychological aspect of poker.
As one can tell from the name this type of player knows that he plays against different opponents and therefore he always tries to exploit their mistakes or even tries to manipulate them into making errors. Most of the time he knows that no one situation will ever be like another and that is why he always includes the metagame into his decision-making.
To exploit an opponent also means to bring him into a bad mindset with all available means. That is exactly what the exploiter is trying to do. He also thinks about psychological approaches away from the poker table to reach this goal.
With regards to his game theoretical understanding, the exploiter is not very different from the planner. However, he aims to have the most exploitative strategy rather than an optimal strategy. This is the biggest difference between him and the previous types of players.
If you reach this type of game approach and if, over and above, you have enough experience, passion and time to play the game, nothing major is in your way to become one of the best poker players. You know that both the planner as well as the exploiter will find for themselves ways to draw a long-term profit from playing poker. Neither however, considers the dangers of "narrow-mindedness", of fixating oneself on only one of these types of play. The key to success is to think outside the box.
The hero's game depends on his opponents and the metagame. He is able to see each situation in isolation but he never loses sight of the big picture. This type of player is oftentimes said to be a worse player than he actually is. This is because from an objective outsider's point of view it might first seem that he is misplaying his hands.
His advantage is that he always has a reason why he decides on certain moves and he always has game theoretical as well as psychological approaches for the following hands as well as for further sessions. He knows when he is able to manipulate his opponents and always keeps an eye on his own game so that he won't easily be exploited.
The concept of controlled planning and planned control
After examining all the different player types you will notice that there is a certain progression in their development. At first the aim is to have a static way of planning the hand. Whether it is with the help of a table containing different starting hands or different post-flop lines actually only differs in complexity. It is only important to have a plan to revert back to.
Especially for beginners this is a good way to protect themselves from big losses and that way they are also able to play acceptable poker right from the start. At some stage during the development of a poker player - one who is just playing the game and the other one who understands it and thinks like it - he will realise that forcibly controlled planning will not be enough in the long run to beat the highest stacks. A more promising approach is planned control.
An important part of planned control is to bring yourself into controlled situations, which are quite marginal EV spots for the average player. To know that you are able to make the better decisions at the table even in situations like these, or just to be able to learn from the marginal error that you made, is an advantage. This type of player differs vastly from the others. He does not just play the game but plays with the opponent. He has the ability to control the game flow and can engage in high-level thinking.
Planning of a hand in practice
What consequences do your decisions with regards to this hand have on following streets?
$0.50/$1.00 No-Limit Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero (BB) $100
Villain (CO) $100
Preflop: Hero is Big Blind with 4
, 7
2 folds, CO calls $1, 2 folds, Hero checks
Flop: ($2.50) 4
, 8, Q (2 players)
Hero ...
Before you make a decision, it is advisable to think through all the possible lines to assess which one will be the most promising.
With this line, you won't gain any information about the hand strength of the opponent at the flop and therefore it will make it very difficult for you to plan your action with the help of the different turn cards. In addition to the lack of information, your opponent now has a better idea of your hand range after your call. He knows that you would rarely check/call a set here, and you will check the turn again.
Because of that, you are in a situation in which even an average player is able to win over you at the turn and river due to the amount of information about your hand range that you gave away, your relative position and your betting initiative. You should therefore not select a line like that as your standard line because this could lead to an expensive leak in your game.
With this line, you are forcing your opponent to have an acceptable hand to be able to call your bets. Furthermore, you are displaying quite a wide hand range, which could contain bluffs as well as monsters. If you are playing against a rather weak opponent this might be the way to go. Against total calling stations, it will however be a bit more difficult to have the best hand on the river with bottom pair no kicker most of the time.
This should frequently be one of your standard lines in such a situation. Through this move you are able to get yourself out of a very marginal post-flop situation where you have to play OOP. Due to the fact that this is only about a limped pot is it not so important for you to win no matter what.
With this line at the flop, you will again force your opponent to have a good hand to call your raise. Especially against somewhat aggressive opponents, you will very often see a fold because they were just trying to steal the pot at the flop.
A very big disadvantage of this line though is that it is relatively easy to exploit. If your opponent is paying attention to your hand range, he will notice that this kind of check/raise at the flop is most likely a (semi-) bluff and very rarely an absolute monster.
By illustrating the different options alone, you will realise that there are many other possibilities to play this hand as opposed to the normal check/fold flop standard line. To have reads on your opponent is your biggest advantage because then you are able to pick the best line to take the best possible advantage of your opponent.
Oftentimes you will get yourself into difficult post-flop situations through "less known" lines. However, this is a very good way to improve your understanding of the game as well as your post-flop abilities. Your win rate will increase in the long run if you are able to make the right decision in these marginal situations, which will give you an edge in post-flop over your opponent. It is imperative though that you realise that different lines against different opponents will have a different effect.
Generally however you cannot expect that there is a 'right' solution for either this hand or any other hand because your overall game plan at the back of your mind will often determine how to approach these situations. Viewing this hand in different lines is however a very good way to notice different leaks in your own game and to realise exploitive plays.
You could have noticed two things with this hand and the discussion we just had:
- 1) You only start to think about your plan at the flop and it seems as if you are not considering the pre-flop at all.
Often this is true because during a free play you think out of the big blind: "Let's just have a look at the flop first. Maybe it will be a 774r." Here you should not try to make the mistake of 'planning' - do not go through all the possible flop textures to exactly know how to react to different board textures. - 2) The plan of 're-evaluating turn' is very weak because it only tells you how to play the flop.
The problem here again is that you must not make the mistake of planning by thinking through complete lines for special cases in advance. To re-evaluate the turn after your action is very important for your approach. Because through your flop action you will only have a small selection of turn possibilities most of the time. Your selected actions should be in line with the board texture as well as your game flow.
It is also very important not to play a full hand on autopilot until showdown without thinking about what you can represent and how you have to evaluate your opponent in this situation. This will lead you to oftentimes not playing poker anymore but merely pressing buttons without even knowing what you are actually doing.
Another example of how the planning of your own hand can say something about the overall game plan is a simple pre-flop situation against a short stack and the selection of the bet size or the previous assessment of the hand range of the Shorty to directly have a decision at hand.
A quick example:
$0.50/$1.00 No-Limit Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero (Button) $100
Villain (BB) $17
Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 8
3 folds, Hero raises to $3.50, SB folds, BB raises to $17, Hero ...
If you haven't thought about how the pushing range of your opponent might look like you'll be lost here. Against some short stacks that only re-steal very tightly, you will have a simple fold. However, you will have far greater leeway if you have an answer ready on how to react on his raise before the short stack pushes.
If you come to the conclusion that you cannot call but you think that your opponent will always raise or fold, you are able to think about the bet size of your open raise again.
With the help of these two hand examples you've already seen how you can plan a hand individually tailored to an opponent. However, you probably haven't grasped the exact concept on how to approach planning itself and what you have to keep in mind. Here is the answer to your question:
How do you plan properly?
Generally, you can split up the planning process into several phases:
- Phase 1: Individual street
- Phase 2: Individual line
- Phase 3: Your individual game plan
Here you have to restrict your plan to the current street and then tell yourself bet/fold flop or bet/3-bet turn or something similar. If the actual stack is big enough to make you commit to it then this will be the plan for the complete hand. Because bet/call turn to fold the river on a 1/20 pot size bet is generally not a winning approach.
Here you can already make a note to yourself that you definitely have to re-evaluate the next street (as you have seen in the first example). That is how you get into the mindset that you are NOT automatically pressing some buttons but that, you quickly think about your possibilities and maybe look into timing tells or game flow. Oftentimes you have to rely on your gut feeling that you acquired through your game experience, which will allow you to quickly assess the situation.
With your individual line you take the obvious step forward and already make a plan on how you would like to play the following street.
You also partly move away from playing your exact hand and you begin to incorporate your own perceived hand range. You can only plan your turn action in conjunction with the corresponding turn card after a check/raise flop if you know what kind of hand range you represent.
Especially with a plan like bet turn, check behind blank river it is very easy for you to see that you are actually playing a full hand range, and that you can split this for the river and the respective card in order to extract the maximum value.
You now basically combine your knowledge from phase 2 and from your individual opponent read. This means that you try to plan your action in consideration of possible board cards and you also try to shape it individually. You are aware that, if you raise your top range for value at the turn, after his turn call, you will generally never end up on the river with nearly nuts.
Due to the fact that you were able to read your opponent, you are now able to assess whether this kind of balancing thought is adequate or whether your opponent is just playing his own cards, thus enabling you to play the situation totally unbalanced. You are also aware that you should change your decisions if an opponent tilts and you know when you have to do a high-variance-play due to tilt inducing and when not to.
Here you oftentimes don't view your hand in isolation but you are aware that after this hand there will be other hands that follow, which you are now able to play differently from playing them 'standard' due to your table image and game flow.
Now is a good time to show you how to put this into practice with the help of a hand and a plan.
$1.00/$2.00 No-Limit Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero (BB) $350
Villain (Button) $320
Preflop: Hero is Big Blind with K, Q
3 folds, Villain raises to $7, 1 fold, Hero ...
At this point, you have already gathered the read that your opponent often called 3-bets and he also attracted attention through his solid game. Previously you also quite actively did some 3-betting pre-flop and that is why you decide to avoid a difficult post-flop spot OOP deep.
Your options:
- a) 3-bet pre-flop in order to try to correctly assess your hand post-flop, and to reduce the positional disadvantage as much as possible.
- b) Fold pre-flop, to generally avoid any post-flop decision.
- c) Call pre-flop, and depending on the flop texture either over-represent your own hand against a relatively solid game from your opponent, thus forcing him to make a bad fold, or to under-represent it in order to apply OOP pot control.
After much deliberation you decide on a call because you do not want to sit in a 3-bet pot OOP. You also don't want to give the opponent an easy opportunity to steal, because KQo still has a certain hand strength that you would like to have in your defending range.
Flop: ($15) J, T, 3 (2 players)
Hero ...
Precisely here you have to start to think and plan the most. Because the opponent is multi tabling and because he will play his usual solid game, you will notice that this is an excellent spot for an exploit. He will often not be aware of what you are currently doing and he will categorise this situation as standard.
You will incorporate the following into your plan:
- Your opponent is playing solid ABC poker
- Your opponent is not worried about whether he will be exploited at a 'standard spot'
- Your opponent will often realise that he is playing deep stacked only after your action, and try to assess your hand range accordingly
Your plan: You check/call the flop (you are expecting his standard continuation bet); to then play extremely +EV on turn and river. Villain will check behind by every blank on turn, and put you on a marginal made hand.
He will however very often 2nd barrel scare cards like 9, Q, K, A, which in return means for you that you are able to call again when a Q and K occurs and you are able to check/raise your straights very well.
But because your opponent will check behind the turn very often, a perfect OOP float is also available to you. Should he check behind his Ax or his weak T you are oftentimes able to collect the pot unimproved with a river bet.
It's impossible to describe NL Hold'em as a static game. If this would be the case, you would be able to make money through excessive continuation betting and light pre-flop 3 betting, without anyone without anyone standing up against it. So always be alert to the changing tendencies and try to re-assess a hand and the accompanying plan afterwards, because sometimes you will realise that you still have extreme potential for improvement.
You will make great progress by using your planning ability to analyse your game after you have played your hand. Then you will start to think about the hands that you played in a quiet moment as well as go through all possible options. You will realise that your planning can turn marginal -EV situations into very good +EV situations.
Of course, we will give you a good hand example that will illustrate such a post game analysis.
$1.00/$2.00 No-Limit Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats
Hero (Button) $400
Villain (BB) $620
Preflop: Hero is Button with K, T
3 folds, Hero raises to $7, SB folds, Villain calls $5.
Flop: ($15) Q, 6
, 5 (2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets $11, Villain raises to $36, Hero ...
During the game you had the read that your opponent often check/raises a flop as a bluff. However, your opponent did not expect you trying to assess his check/raise hand range. Most of the time, he will have air or nuts.
Because value hands only contain 55, 66, 56, AQ, KQ and because you have the read that your opponent check/raises very often, you can assume that he will have air most of the time. You therefore decided for a float and called the checkraise.
Turn: ($87) J
Villain bets $60, Hero ...
The turn card is very good for your current hand, because you've now collected a couple more outs. In addition to your position, you now also have extremely good implied odds through this card, should your opponent hold a value hand against all expectations.
You actually planned to collect the pot now after your opponent gave up his bluff. But because of the high implied odds, you don't see anything that could be against a call.
River: ($207) K
Villain bets $170, Hero ...
This river card with the bet of the opponent is very interesting. Due to the bet size of your opponent you can assume to hold a pure bluff catcher. Villain will very rarely bet a hand like AQ for such a high value. He either holds a set, a good two pair or a bluff. Because you think that Villain will bluff at this river to get you from weak Qx hands, you decide to call the bet.
In your post game analysis, you'll go through your complete hand again and you'll examine the quality of your line against your opponent. While taking a closer look you realise that your line wasn't exactly perfect. Your river call is only good if your opponent continues to bluff at the flop and does not give in after his checkraise. When you call the river, it means that your opponent is still trying to continue to bluff after the turn.
Your float at the flop is not so good because you only did it out of intention to hold a bluff catcher on the river. However, against an opponent who 2nd barrels a turn too often, a float is not better than a small bluff-3-bet at the flop. The float forces you to improve against the very wide range of your opponent on the river, whereas the bluff-3-bet on the flop impacts directly against the opponent's bluff. Bluffs will largely fold.
In future, you will only play a consequent line against your aggressive opponents in this kind of situation and with a hand like that. If the opponent often bluffs the turn again you will directly 3-bet the flop. If the opponent gives in too often, you are able to play a float, but in that case you should not also call the river as a bluff catcher.
Summary
This article has shown you how to plan your hand as well as your whole strategy. You were shown that structured planning of your hand always leaves the possibility for creative moves open. You adapt to your opponent and you increase your win rate. Structural planning of your hand leaves you lots of possibilities to find several leaks in your post game analysis. It also gives you the opportunity to see situations which most of the regulars haven't noticed yet.
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