Let the poker table determine your strategy

Too many times I hear players talk about how they would do this or do that at the poker table before the tournaments begins. These things are spoken within the context of moves that they want to make regardless of the situation or player(s) they are up against. The fact of the matter is that we cannot go into a tournament with a set strategy because the variables, players, change from table to table and we must make adustments to adapt to the environment we are in at the time.

Not long ago I had a conversation with another poker player that happens to do quite well online and live. He indicated that he had his particular strategy that he liked to employ each time he played. When I asked him how he was able to do that he simply said that it is the way he always plays. After listening to his reasoning for a few moments I quickly realized that his strategy only worked against opponents that played straight forward poker with very little variance from the fundamentals.

This is why when you break down your game you need to break it down with a large sampling of poker tournaments so that you can get a good understanding of your trending. We can all go on a lucky run for a few tourneys or get the same kind of table a few times in a row. But over the long run their will be a good mix of players and table styles that will give us a much more accurate picture as to what we are up against at the table. By studying your opponents and their playing style along with your table you will be able to pick the best approach for your situation at that point in time.

Don't put yourself in a bad position simply because you are unwilling to change your style of play.