How to maximize wins and minimize losses in poker Part 3: Isolate and Avoid

When it comes to generalizations in poker none rings truer than “You want to maximize your wins and minimize your losses”, but the practical application of this concept often escapes people. Whether your goal is to maximize or minimize, the methods are the same, and involve three key concepts:

• 1. Utilizing position
• 2. Pot control
• 3. Isolating weak opponents/avoiding strong opponents

In this series I will take a look at each concept and how it applies to the concept of maximizing your wins and minimizing your losses. The final installment: Isolation and Avoidance.

Isolation and Avoidance

The final aspect of maximizing your wins and minimizing your losses deals with making adjustments to your specific opponents; specifically which opponents you want to have to deal with. Poker is like any other competition; there are certain players you look forward to playing against -and will go out of your way to play with-and there are certain opponents that you’d rather not see at a poker table.

This is where isolation and Avoidance come into play. It’s important that you make sure you are adjusting your strategy to steer clear of any strong opponents in the game -not to the point of complete avoidance-because  there isn’t much of a reason to get involved with a player who is unlikely to make any mistakes. Conversely, there are certain players that you not only want to play against, but should go out of your way to discourage others from playing with at the same time.

Think of this like fishing: If you know a particular spot on a lake where there are tons of fish and no fishermen, you don’t go blabbing around time about it, or inviting everyone on the block to meet you at your prime spot. You keep it to yourself, even to the point of giving out misinformation about the spot.

It also makes little sense to go out on the water with a bunch of professional anglers in their Bass Boats while you row out with your old fashioned fishing pole in a canoe!

Well the same holds true for poker, when there is a poor player that has entered the pot you want to try to isolate them so that you have the best chance of gaining from the hand, you don’t want to invite other players into the pot. Think of it this way: Suppose the poor player has a 40% chance of winning against you heads-up, but if you allow an equally skilled player into the pot as well the fish’s winning percentage drops to 20% with you and the other player splitting the other 80%. In this case you’ve lost 20% equity by allowing the other player into the pot. This is why it’s so important to isolate bad players even if the raise/re-raise isn’t completely justified.

And on the flipside when a strong player enters the pot you should err on the side of caution, instead of butting heads against an opponent who you have very little edge over.