Gavin Smith
January 30, 2006
You'll be seeing a lot of me on next year's World Poker
Tour broadcasts. So far in the 2005-2006 schedule, I've
made three final tables. I won the Mirage event,
finished third at the Bellagio and fourth in Tunica.
When you see a broadcast that features my play, you may
be left scratching your head, asking, "Why the heck is
that guy playing those cards?"
There's no question that I do play an unconventional
game. But, there is a method to my madness.
I play a style that's usually referred to as
"small-pot poker." Using this approach, I'm looking to
pick up a lot of small pots by applying a constant level
of pressure to my opponents. Pre-flop, I raise
frequently, especially in position. My raises are small,
usually around two-and-a-half times the big blind, as
opposed to the customary three or four times the big
blind. I'll raise with a huge variety of hands -
everything from big pocket pairs to "junk" hands, like
6d-4d, or 5c-8c.
Usually, I'll miss the flop when I raise with junk.
In fact, two-thirds of the time, I won't make as much as
a pair. But here's the thing: If someone called my
pre-flop raise, he's also going to miss the flop most of
the time. When we both miss, I have a distinct
advantage. As the pre-flop aggressor, I have control of
the hand. Most of the time (as much as 90 percent of the
time), I'll follow up my pre-flop aggression by betting
roughly half to two-thirds of the pot on the flop. A
good percentage of the time, this bet will be enough to
take down the small pot.
Let me give you an example. Imagine that you're
playing in the big blind and you hold Ks-Qs. I raise in
late position to two-and-a-half. K-Q suited is a pretty
decent hand against someone like me, who has been
raising constantly. Still, it's not necessarily a hand
you want to risk your whole tournament on. So you call.
When you opt to just call, I put you in a position
where you really need to hit the flop. If the flop is
all rags, you need to be worried that I made two-pair
with 4-7. Or, if there's an Ace on the flop, you need to
be concerned, since I could be holding a real hand. Most
of the time, you'll end up surrendering the hand to my
bet on the flop.
If you do hit a hand - say the flop comes K-Q-4 -
that's fine. With my playing style, I'm accustomed to
getting check-raised a lot. But that's okay, too. I
didn't risk a whole lot with my bets, so I can just
surrender the hand and look for better spots down the
line.
There are a couple of other advantages that come with
playing this style. One is that no one ever puts me on a
big hand pre-flop. So, when I do pick up pocket Aces or
Kings, my hand is well disguised. My opponents are
willing to call with marginal hands (like the
aforementioned K-Q) and maybe get themselves in a lot of
trouble. If someone does flop top pair when I hold an
overpair, it's likely I'm going to get a big portion of
his stack.
The other great benefit comes when I hold junk and
hit the flop hard. When I raise with 5-7 and flop a
straight, an opponent holding pocket Jacks is going to
be in a lot of trouble.
Some of the best tournament players around - Daniel
Negreanu, Gus Hansen and Phil Hellmuth among them -
employ some version of the small pot approach. Is it the
right method for you? That's something you'll have to
find out for yourself.
I do, however, caution beginners from trying this
style as it requires a lot of difficult decisions (what
do you do with top-pair bad-kicker on an 8-high flop,
for example). These are answers that sometimes come
easier to more experienced players who have developed a
feel for the game.
Still, you can give small-pot poker a shot. Register
for a low buy-in tournament online and mix up your game.
If the tournament doesn't go so well, you'll only be out
a small buy-in.
Gavin Smith
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