This article will be a bit different to the regular strategy pieces we post. This will focus more on a conceptual idea in poker – that of relativity…
No, I’m not talking about Einstein or the universe here, although the two ideas are actually very similar. The base of the idea is very simple – a hand is only as strong as the possible hand(s) it is compared to; all hand strength is purely relative to others actions and possible holdings.
Clearly, pre flop in hold’em aces are the best hand, but on a flop of 6c7c8h with lots of action, a good player would say that they are now a relatively weak holding. Why is this?
The truth is that many factors can combine to change relative hand strength. This can be illustrated best probably by how many players are in the pot. A hand like AcJc is a monster on an As7h2d board against a single loose aggressive opponent; yet this hand is pretty dangerous if all nine players in a full ring game have called and you start getting action, due to the much larger combination of other players possible holdings (A7, A2, AAA, 777, and 222 will be out there much more often with 9 players in the pot).
Here we can see how having lots of players see a flop makes your hand much worse – there are just many more possible hand combinations out there – making your hand relatively much weaker.
Relativity can also be shown by betting patterns and playing style. That same AcJc on a Ax7h2d flop against a single rock who has raise and re raised you on that board is a radically different prospect than against a loose fish.
The truly great poker players are people who fully understand the relativity of their hand. The top pros can win more and lose less with their marginal and big hands alike, purely because they fully understand this concept. They know when middle pair might be worth calling big bets with, and when bottom set is worth folding. The reason they can do this is that they look at all the factors, betting patterns, number of players in a pot, position, playing style, and image and decide on their relative hand strength and act accordingly.
In most games, the only hand worth calling all bets from everyone with is the nuts; all other hands must be considered in terms of everything else that is going on. Really try and focus on the relative strength of your hand before you make that big call, fold, or bluff – by thinking about your hand compared to everything that is going on around you, the true relative strength of your cards should be much easier to calculate.
Loading ...
