An 'ABC' Poker Player

An ABC player is one who is highly predictable in their style of play. An ABC player is renound for playing very solid starting hands and rarely ventures outside their very limited comfort zone.

Adopting this style of play is certainly more beneficial in the lower limits largely because it is considerably more difficult to bluff an opponent out of a pot in lower stake games. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, opponents are seldom paying enough attention to the game and are likely to have missed the fact that you folded the last 30 hands. A good player will notice that you are extremely tight and when you enter a pot, they will only follow with a premium hand. As a result, playing a tight game and getting involved with solid hands is a winning strategy in low limit, a reason why the ABC player will be more successful.

Now taking things up a notch to middle and high stakes as well as tournament play, the ABC will likely be crushed or blinded out the game (as you will have to post blinds - see guide on big and small blind) for the reason that an advanced player will pressure each hand and simply waiting for a premium hand will not get you into the number of pots needed to post a profit. The hands that you do enter, everyone will know your game and get out of the hand so your profit margin will be shot from the word go.

ABC players very often will read a number of poker books and follow them to the letter of the law, unwilling to mix things up and keep their opponents guessing. The fact of the matter is that most avid poker players have read the books which is why to win at middle stakes and up, you need to mix it up and keep your opponents guessing. Not only that, it is debatable whether you need a book to work out the style of an ABC player as predictability is what they are good at.

On the flip side, playing an ABC style of play can have advantages. For instance, an ABC player lose less than a highly aggressive one as he is less willing to get involved in hands. When an ABC player enters a pot, they will usually be playing AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 10,10 or a combination of these. The reason that it's easy to play against an ABC player is that, then a high card hits the flop, players know that what they are potentially up against and an ABC player will find it difficult to win large pots. Additionally when there is no paint on the board, it is fairly easy to move an ABC player off the hand.

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