Lazy Plays
Limit hold’em can be a fast-paced mechanical game. I’ve heard the phrase, “No-limit hold’em is art; limit hold’em is science.” In a certain sense, this is true. The speed of the game is increased when players do not have to determine betting size. And, when the speed of the game is increased, it’s easier to become lazy, mechanical and thoughtless. You’ve seen the exact same hand with the exact same opponents with the exact same action so many times that it’s very easy to become robotic and reactionary, as opposed to actually thinking out a specific situation.
Take, for instance, a hand I recently played at the 8-16 limit hold’em table. In middle position, I looked down at K
Q and raised. The button called, as did the big-blind. The flop was 8
6
5
. The big-blind reached for his chips as if to bet, and then checked. I bet. The button called. And the big-blind check-raised me.
At this moment, I got truly angry with myself. I mucked my cards, and openly laughed at how stupidly I played the hand. The flop is terrible, first of all. Look at that thing! There isn’t a worse imaginable flop, really. If the flop at least had a dry Ace, I could pretend I had one with a continuation-bet. To make matters worse, the big-blind did everything short of putting up a blinking neon sign that said, “I liked that flop!”
Why the hell did I bet? It’s so ingrained in me to continuation-bet the flop against a limited number of opponents. But that doesn’t mean I should do it every single time! What a dumbass! It’s just so lazy. Really, the big-blind played his hand equally mechanically (though ultimately successfully, given my total stupidity). He could’ve just bet the flop, but his instincts told him to check because the moron pre-flop raiser will bet every time. And I didn’t prove him wrong…
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