Lower Level Poker: Outplay or Outlast?

The more I play online at these lower levels (because I have to) the more I wonder about what the true secret to success is. Or to put it another way, is it more a matter of outlasting the level of competition here than outplaying them? Or to really boil it down, is it even possible to outplay them?

For the majority of the players at this level, I don’t think it is possible to outplay them. That’s not to say they don’t get outplayed…they just outplay themselves. I like to think I have something to do with it, but I don’t. I can’t take credit for their bad play. I can’t say I outplayed someone who calls off his stack on the flop when he plays 10-6 suited to a raise pre-flop and hits top pair of 10s and no secondary draw. Nor can I say I outplayed the person who can’t lay down ANY Ace preflop, then finds himself outkicked when the money goes in. No, these people outplay themselves.

Indeed, when faced with these players at your table (and I think most of us can spot them pretty quick), it is counterproductive to even try to outplay them. All they see is their Ace, or their flopped pair (even if it’s second or third pair), or their flush draw (7 high flush draw is a monster). Board texture, betting patterns or sizes, over cards, check-raises, folding for a half hour-then raising…none of these have a measurable effect. So it becomes more of a matter of outlasting such players as opposed to outplaying them. Let them outplay themselves and hope you don’t get run down. Unfortunately, this happens all too often; which even the most modest search of poker blogs will reveal.

As has been written about ad nauseum, this can be quite frustrating. Unfortunately it is what needs to be dealt with. I suspect that there is a degree of this kind of thing at most levels, but I have to believe it is most prevalent in the levels in which I live. The down side is that it tends to dull the poker senses. Yet on those occasions where you are lucky enough to play with people who have some ability, it becomes that much better.

I suspect this is, in some way, a basic and foggy acknowledgement of riggstad’s forthcoming piece on Situational Awareness (SA). I look forward to that and hope to expand on my thoughts once his are published. It seems to me that part of making effective use of SA is finding out what players at your table are not SA. This would directly affect your decision making process. Do I need to play ABC here? Or can I get a little frisky?

At any rate, I can’t say that I have been doing a lot of outplaying of people. I’d say I’m at least doing kind of okay at outlasting them. But man those suckouts hurt. Especially when it’s several games in a row. But…back in to the breach! Keep your head down and your powder dry.