Do You Have It?
FPS is an acronym used to reference ‘Fancy Play Syndrome'; a condition which besieges virtually all aspiring Texas hold em players at some point in their career. While the causes of FPS will vary from person to person, it almost always starts the same way: a good player, with a keen instinct for proper poker play, begins winning regularly, and eventually asks themselves “I've more or less mastered the basics. Where do I go from here?”
If our budding young pro asked a seasoned Texas hold em veteran what the next step in his evolution should be, he would probably be told to find a) more reasons to fold pre-flop, and b) more reasons to raise pre-flop with those hands he has decided to play. But, this isn't the way it usually goes. Instead our hero decides that the next step is to start playing virtually every hand as strangely as possible, so that his opponent ‘won't be able to put him on a hand', or to ensure ‘maximum value on his made hands'.
Sound familiar? If so, join the club! I'm a card carrying member of the FPS society, and there isn't a weird play out there that I haven't tried—at least twice. So I can speak from experience when I say that 95% of the time your best bet in Texas hold em is to play your hand as straightforwardly as possible. If you have a good hand, bet. If you have a real good hand, start dumping buckets full of chips in the middle. If your hand is lousy get rid of it at the first opportunity. ‘ABC' poker, as they call it. It may not be as fun, but it's simple and usually the most profitable way to play Texas hold em.
This week we'll look at a few different plays which are usually symptomatic of FPS. If you find yourself making these plays run, don't walk, to your bookshelf and reread ‘Hold em For Advanced Players' until your eyes start to bleed.
Play 1) The triple check raise, a.k.a ‘the triple play'.
This move is the Holy Grail of FPS. At some point in your poker career you're going to try and check raise some poor bastard three times in a hand—once on the flop, once on the turn, and once on the river. Odds are you'll miss one of these check raises, which will only strengthen your determination to finally pull this move off. You'll try again and fail, then try again with the same result. Before you know it you're working to pull this move on every hand, and leaving all kinds of money on the table as your opponents begin to check along, thrilled to death that you're handing out free cards to their Js 3s.
The check raise is a strong move, and all top Texas hold em players use it liberally. But don't get carried away. You can usually check raise an aggressive late position player once, but after that they usually figure you have something—which means they won't be inclined to bet the turn without a fairly big hand. Also, please note that when this play works you gain an extra bet, but when it fails you give a free card that could cost you a pot. When faced with a decision in Texas hold em between possibly gaining a bet, or possibly losing a pot, you should just about always pick Door ‘A'. This is especially true in smaller games where all but the most intrepid of your opponents will clam up and quit betting after getting check raised the first time.
Give up on this play. Or, if you won't give up the dream, at least wait until you're in a three handed game with a total maniac. Then you can hop on the nearest message board and let the entire free world know that you finally pulled it off. A full handed 2-4 game is not the place for this play. Believe me.
Play 2) The stop and raise.
Here's a profile of this play. You're in early position and raise with Kc Kd. One middle position player calls, the button calls, and all fold. The flop comes Js 8h 6d. You bet, the middle player calls, and the button raises. Now, instead of doing the rational thing, which is three-betting and putting pressure on the middle player, you just call with the intention of check raising the button on the turn.
Like most hands which exhibit signs of FPS this play is the absolute bomb--when it works. But therein lies the problem. You see, it won't work every time, and when it doesn't all kinds of horrible things can happen. For instance:
• The button may check, which means you've essentially given the turn and river to the middle position player for free.
• The button or the middle player may three bet with a hand that beats yours, but fold hands that are essentially drawing dead (hands like 33, K8, etc.)
The net result of this play is this: Unless someone has top pair you have all but guaranteed that you won't get action from a worse hand, but will get a lovin' spoonful of action from hands which have you owned. In other words, a classic reverse implied odds situation. Also, you have a decent but vulnerable hand, which means you'd really rather not turn into the ‘Johnny Appleseed of free cards' and start passing out free turn and river cards to hands that are drawing live. The pot is fairly big on the flop, and you'd really like to get this hand heads-up. It's time to do the right thing—three-bet the flop, and pray to Providence that the middle player will do the sensible thing and fold.
Play 3) The rope a dope
You have the Ah Th in early position and call. All fold to the big blind who checks. The flop comes As 9h 5d. The big blind checks, and now you, uh, check. The ‘right' play, of course, is to bet, and hope you get action from a lousy draw or something like bottom pair. But you check, thinking that ‘free cards aren't a problem, and you'd like to give the big blind a chance to make a quality second best hand'.
The problem with this is that a bet on the flop by you would look totally natural—whether you had an ace or not. Thus, when you check the big blind will often get suspicious and check the turn as well. Sure, sometimes you'll get him to bet the turn and river with an unimproved ten high, at which point you can smugly flip over top pair. But your best chance to make money with this hand is to bet out and hope the big blind can find an excuse to call. Yes, quite often he'll fold. But then, if he folds the flop he was probably done with the hand anyway, which means you don't lose anything by betting now. Also, if you get in the habit of checking top pair heads-up astute players will notice this and start giving you fits when you try and buy a small pot like this with nothing.
Bet your hand here, and let your opponent guess as to whether or not you really have it. You'd be shocked at how often they guess wrong.
FPS will cost you money—that's an iron clad guarantee that I can make to you. When you're playing against fairly unaware players—and that's exactly the type you're usually up against—you make money in Texas hold em by betting and raising with good hands, and folding bad hand. Sure, it's less sexy to play this way, but believe me- and the end of the month your landlord will thank you.
