29th Lecture - Do You Know When To Shift Gears In Poker?

Do You Know When To Shift Gears In Poker?
This lecture took place on April 13, 1999 and was the 29th in the series. The columns based
on these lectures first appeared in Card Player Magazine.

Doyle Brunson, the twice world champion of poker and Hall of Fame member, talks a lot
about "shifting gears." Of course, now that almost everybody drives a car with an automatic
transmission, the concept of shifting gears may not have the impact it once did. So, pretend
you're driving a big old truck or a small sports car without automatic. You need to shift to
match driving conditions.

In poker, you can shift gears by changing from a very aggressive style of play to a more
defensive one, from tight to loose, from bluff mode to non-bluff mode and back again. The
object of shifting gears is to keep opponents off guard.

The nice thing about shifting gears in poker is that you always know right away that you've
shifted, but your opponents may throw thousands of dollars your way before they figure it out.
But, what if your opponents aren't paying any attention to you? Then, shifting gears is silly.
You might as well just make your most profitable long-range decision on every play. There's
no reason to sacrifice the top choice in an effort to throw your opponents off-guard, because
they simply aren't reacting to you.

But that last type of opponent is more theoretical than actual. All opponents react to what you
do to some extent, whether they realize it or not. Still, changing gears just for the sake of it
doesn't accomplish much. You need to use the right gear at the right time. No sense cruising
along the highway, making good time toward your destination, with no traffic, thinking, "Hey,
I haven't shifted gears for a while, maybe I'll shift down to first gear and gradually rebuild my
speed from there."

So, today we'll talk about shifting gears correctly. This material comes from the 29th in my
serious of Tuesday Session classroom lectures at Mike Caro University of Poker, Gaming,
and Life Strategy. The lecture was held on April 13, 1999. The following is from the handout
that accompanied the lecture and has been specially enhanced for Card Player. The title of my
talk was…

Shifting Gears for the Right Reasons

1.

Shifting gears is simply the act of changing tactics suddenly between tight and

loose, between aggressive and passive, and back again.
There is no word-class player who stays in the same gear all the time. You can't
maximize your profit without shifting gears, but shifting gears for the wrong reason
can just cost you money. Sure, if your opponents are playing strict game theory
without making any adjustments in accordance with how you play, you can only lose
money by shifting gears. There's simply no reason to do it.

Shifting gears should only be done to confuse opponents or to enhance your image.
There is no other reason whatsoever to shift. However, this does not mean that you
shouldn't "randomize" your decisions, even against some opponents who may not be

paying attention when you change tactics. If you're playing against an excellent
opponent who is using game theory to his benefit (whether perfectly or imperfectly,
whether consciously or unconsciously), you need to vary your decisions. Bet
sometimes, but not always, with given hands. Bluff at random, but at the right
frequency.

But shifting gears is different from this kind of sudden randomization. Shifting gears
means you've changed your basic mode of aggression or deception and intend to stay
in that new mode for many hands, many minutes, or maybe for hours.

2.

There are only four good reasons to shift gears.

1.

To be less predictable and more confusing;

2.

To attack their money;

3.

To defend your money;

4.

To let opponents self-destruct.

3.

Shifting to appear less predictable only matters against certain players.

They are ones who otherwise (consciously or unconsciously) would understand how
you're playing and who would and could take advantage if you stayed in the same
gear.

4.

Don't shift unless you need to.

Stay in your most profitable gear as much as possible. If you don't need to shift, don't!

5.

Which gears work best?

Consider a low gear (conservative and unaggressive) against tight, sensible opponents
in rake games, because a fast strategy will eat up your profits in rakes. Also use a low
gear when you've been seen losing or otherwise haven't been able to establish a
dynamic image - but have tried. This is very important, because normally borderline
bets and raises are unprofitable against opponents who are inspired by your bad luck
and may play better and become more deceptive as a result.

Middle gears (sometimes aggressive, but also sometimes defensive) work best against
aggressive and sensible opponents, but you should often shift up or down from middle
gears. Middle gears should also be used against opponents who bluff often. In that
case, middle gear often can mean calling, but not raising.

High (fast) gears should be used against opponents who are intimidated by your
image. Also use high gears while you are building your image. When you're winning
against weak opponents whose main fault is that they call too much with bad hands
and don't raise enough with valuable hands, go into high gear and stay there unless
conditions change.

6.

The simple truth about shifting gears.

Your primary goal should be to get into medium-high gear and stay there as much as
possible. But -- except in rare games where opponents call too much, raise too little,
and don't adapt -- you will lose money if you stay locked in the highest gear.

7.

When you suddenly shift gears, you have the advantage!

Even the most observant opponent has no way to tell that you shifted right away. This
advantage of "acting first" in shifting your strategy before your opponents shift in
response is available to all players. Make sure you use it often and hope that your
strongest opponents don't use it as much.

8.

Even unobservant opponents can be confused by gear shifting.

Unconsciously they sense volatility and become more timid and play worse against
you.

9.

BIG MISTAKE:

When you're in high gear and controlling the game… You should almost never shift
down to play a big hand deceptively. Just keep betting and raising. Take advantage of
your aggressive and deceptive image as long as it's working. - MC