Small ball used to be a term only reserved for basketball teams that choose to employ a smaller-than-usual lineup in an attempt to push the pace. However, the small ball term has definitely been making its way onto the felt a lot more as of late since so many pros are preaching this tactic. So it definitely warrants taking a look at how small ball poker is played.
Basics of Small Ball
As indicated by the name, small ball poker utilizes smaller bets and raises in an effort to minimize losses if a hand goes bad for you. You also open up the range of starting hands you’re willing to play with small ball strategy, and must be willing to be aggressive with the amount of pots you enter.
How Small Ball Wins
It’s often been said that the majority of good poker players are aggressive and loose. And even if one isn’t a loose player, it’s always good to have that table image so that you keep others guessing. Small ball poker creates this image for you and that’s a good thing since players will call you with second-rate hands this way. So when you get a monster hand, you’re likely to get more action on that hand.
When Small Ball Loses
The effectiveness of small ball poker relies on your opponents knowing how you’ve been playing. So if you’re playing in a $1 + $0.25 Sit & Go then it’s unlikely anyone will be paying attention to how you’ve been playing. In fact, using small poker in tournaments or cash games where people aren’t paying attention is a good way to bleed out chips.
Starting Hands
As mentioned before, you want to open your starting hand requirements in small ball poker. And since small ball requires a fair amount of raising, you’ll often be entering pots will non-premium hands. But you certainly don’t to enter with just any hand since your small raises won’t scare people away from calling. So the key is to raise with hands that have post-flop potential like suited connectors. If you happen to hit the flop or get a drawing hand then you have the potential to get a monster hand.
