Professional players talk about it all the time. It’s about having good timing in a tournament for a bluff, a re-raise, a squeeze play, a tough fold or an all-in call. But having good timing isn’t really something you learn about away from the table, it comes with hours and hours and buy-in after buy-in as part of your dues paid on the felt.
In that sense it is hard for amateurs and even more so for new players to emulate the good timing of their favorite professional players often exhibited in big-money, televised tournaments like the WSOP and WPT. Certainly there is a level of intuition involved that comes from talent, experience, patience and just a knack for reading opponents. None of this will come easy for a new online player, but there are strategies a rookie can learn to use while building his skill and bankroll so that eventually, a sense of timing is a natural part of arsenal.
Profiling. Learn to profile your opponents in every full tilt poker tournament, at every table you are at. By profiling I mean using a color system (if you don’t have poker software), or profile icons (like the ones used in tournament indicator), to identify and predict the motives and moves your opponent may make, even before he makes them.
Putting your opponent on a hand. This is something that you absolutely must try to do whether you are in a hand or not. When you can put your opponent on a range of hands, 3 of 4 times, you will start to see the benefits of this through well-times bluffs, pushes, and calls. It takes practice. Lots of practice, but you are going to experience some pure poker joy when your opponents start flipping over the exact hole cards you thought he had. And it WILL happen!
Knowing the Tournament Structure. Not just knowing, but understanding is probably better stated. What is the payout and how far from the money are you? When are the blinds going up? How is the structure affecting the play of others?
Understanding your M and Q. If you don’t know these, in particular your M and thus your MZone, you have very little chance to make well timed plays in poker tournaments. As your M becomes more critical, as with your opponents’ M, there is far less predictability about anyone’s play and this must factor in to your decision making.
The next time you see a professional like chris ferguson on TV make a well timed play, not only has he used in intuitive experience, but also has calculated these factors above to help support his decision. So learning these and making them part of your game, every game, is where you need to start.
