Poker Strategy - The Weak/Tight Disease

Online Poker Strategy

The weak-tight disease.

With the high numbers of relative rookies hitting the online poker tables nowadays, it is inevitable to run into a lot of extremes, especially as far as weak play goes.

One of the most widely spread examples of weak play is the weak-tight disease. It usually kicks in after the rookie realizes he's not going to be the next Doyle Brunson any time soon, so he goes from one extreme to the other and tightens up his game. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being tight but there's a time and a place for everything.

What these guys do, is that they grow fearful of monsters and assume that they go up against the ideal hand every single time. Now then, should you really fold your KTo on the button when you get six limpers? First of all, you needn't estimate the value of your hand independently. How strong it is, should not be determined using some chart. What you really consider is the value of your hand relative to what the other players hold. Think about it: is it possible that all six limpers hold stronger hands than yours? I'd hardly think so. While it would be wise to fold that hand against a pair of Aces, it would be just as wrong to muck it against 5,3o.

The course of action you should take however, depends on the nature of those six limpers as well. At a very tight table, folding might be reasonable, at a loose one it'd probably be a mistake.

The ability to handle marginal situations and to make decisions based on subtleties makes the difference between winners and losers. Most rookies have an unnatural fear of losing hands. It is always an emotional shock for them to lose one, and that's one of the reasons why they are plagued by weak-tightness. The reality is though, that you have to lose some hands in order to win some hands. You can't take a bath without getting yourself wet, can you?

This is where another factor comes in, one that always makes life difficult for rookies: the luck factor.

There is obviously an element of luck involved in the game, learning to deal with it however, can be more difficult than you'd think. Good players deal with streaks of bad luck better than average players who in turn, fare better when faced with it than rookies do. If you learn to deal with luck properly, you'll be that much closer to kicking the weak-tight habit altogether.

Another mistake that rookies often make, is that they aim to keep their opponents puzzled. Coming off of instances when they were clearly read, some players would do anything to create a misty twilight around everything they do at the table. All this will achieve is hand opponents a one-in-three chance to do exactly what they don't want them to do ( by either folding, calling and raising) and further fuel their weak-tightness.

You don't want the other guys around the table to be confused... you want them to know exactly what they have to do most of the time. That way, their 33,3% chance to do the wrong thing will plummet to 0%.

This is another skill that poker players need to develop if they ever intend to move out of mediocrity and become winners. Poker is above all, a betting game. It is not a game of hand values, as strange as it might seem. A good player with a weaker hand can beat a bad player holding a stronger one. Without learning to deploy proper counterintelligence to send out clear but misleading signals towards your opponents you'll never be able to pull out a successful bluff.

You'll also find yourself constantly chained down by the weak-tight syndrome, because without mastering the above mentioned skills you'll never be able to play any other way. If you're not discouraged by the initial punches in the nose you receive and you stick around long-enough, you'll probably realize what you have to do by yourself. After a while it'll all seem natural and discovering one thing after another all by yourself will prove to be quite a satisfying experience as well.

Getting an early clue as to how you can combat this inevitable ditch you'll sooner or later find yourself in, will certainly make your life easier, and your poker game more satisfying, thus turning you into a winner sooner.

- by James West