This past weekend I was parked outside of my friend’s house waiting for her to finish getting ready when a movement in the schoolyard across the street caught my attention. There was a kid, maybe fourteen years old, and he was punting a football around. It was quite cold out and strangely enough he was alone, so every time he kicked the ball he had to go retrieve it himself. I was feeling particularly lazy, so I couldn’t imagine anyone having the desire to do that over and over again. Actually, I felt kind of sorry for the kid. I began watching in earnest though when he started to set up the football on a tee to practice his placekicking. 

He would set up the ball, take ten steps back, pause, (it was obvious he was deep in thought) and then proceed to run and kick the ball. After retrieving it, he began the ritual again - always from the same starting place, and always with the same, identical movements. Not surprising, the ball consistently landed in the same place. This continued for a while, and it finally dawned on me that he was approaching his sport in the same way that I approached poker when I'm on top of my game. 

I haven’t played very much serious poker in the past few months simply due to time restraints, but I realized that to improve my game I once again have to relearn the basics. 

I am going to begin another series on tournament play, diving deeper into some of the strategies, thoughts, and methodologies that have helped to increase my level of play over the years. Some of the items are very abstract, while others are quite tangible, but the purpose is always the same – to keep analyzing the game and train your vision to always see outside of the box.

Though the above football story may seem somewhat trivial, it covers a very crucial topic - setting and maintaining consistency in your play. This is actually a starting place for anyone who is serious about the game, even if they barely know which cards they should hold or which they should simply get rid of. 

While watching the kid kick the football, I was reminded of the days when I practiced the art of playing hands in a consistent manner. I too followed a strict process: wait for my turn, look at my cards, think for a moment, then make my decision and act at the same time for each hand. I didn’t want people to be able to read what cards I may be holding or what play I was going to make based on pausing too long or acting too quickly, so I taught myself to time each of my plays the same. I would eventually fall into a rhythm while doing this, and I know it helped to make me much harder to read. As an added bonus, when I trained myself to follow the same process each time, I became acutely aware of each subtle movement I made. I learned to resist the urge to cover my mouth with my hands, look away from my opponent, or brush my hair away from my face - anything that may be considered an obvious tell. 

One of the very first things I notice about another player, online or live, is their ability (or inability) to make a quick, consistent decisions. People tend to follow patterns, and if you pay attention you will learn what those patterns are. For example, you can learn that when Player #1 pauses for more than 10 seconds, he tends to have a good starting hand and is trying to figure out the best way to play it. When Player #2 makes a very quick play, he tends to be trying to represent strength and bluff you out of the pot. 

Now if you have a third player who checks, bets, raises and folds at the same time each hand, it will be much more difficult to place him on any particular strength or weakness. Furthermore, by playing his hands in a consistent manner, it actually allows him to use the timing of plays as an effective tool when he so chooses. If I have been unable to get a read on him throughout the game because he is so consistent, I am going to be much more wary of him when he finally does add a few pauses or quick plays to the mix. 

Think about this: 

If I fold forty hands in a row after thinking for only two seconds each time, it would be logical to conclude that I actually have a good hand when I finally do raise the pot or pause to think about my play. Even if other players aren’t paying particular attention to what I am doing, something will trigger in their minds that this hand is a little different because I had set a pattern and have now altered it. 

To give yourself more tools in the game, you have to lay the foundation for what is to be considered your ‘normal play’. Though these traits may be subtle, people will pick up on changes to your pattern whether they realize it or not.

Just like the kid in the field with the football, they key is to practice doing the same thing over and over until the pattern becomes an instant reflex. Once you have set and achieved consistency, you will be able to use timing as an effective tool against others, regardless of what cards you may hold.

Coming Soon: Reading your opponents and playing blind.