"Do as I say ..." [Chapter 2]: Levels

Preface: My last article was concerning bankroll management – one of those concepts that a successful poker player absolutely needs to have a handle on. This article may not be as essential and basic, but I feel a player should at least be aware of it.

Note also that whenever I use the pronoun “he,” it should be read “he or she.” It is well documented that poker is no longer just a man’s game; “he” is used only for writer’s convenience.
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Today we’re going to talk about levels of poker. The levels in my scheme roughly correlate to more common degrees of skill. That is, Level 1 is similar to “Beginner,” Level 2 is similar to “Intermediate,” Level 3 is similar to “Advanced,” and Level 4 is similar to “Expert.” As you read this treatise, you will realize that the iterations allow for infinite levels, but after Level 4, these iterations become somewhat elaborate and tedious. Once you’ve reached Level 4, I wouldn’t say you’ve arrived (even a professional poker player can always improve his game), but you should be winning consistently enough that any higher level would be overkill.

Level 1 is the most basic skill-set a poker player must have. At Level 1, a player knows relative hand strength, knows what starting hands are the strongest (and thus the most playable), and knows about position. More important for my theory, however, is the basis on which the player makes his decisions. A Level 1 player acts (bets, raises, calls, and folds) according to the strength of his own cards and position. A Level 1 player will win sometimes, when their strong hands hold up for them, but will probably lose money in the long run.

A Level 2 player has developed some ability to put opponents on a range of hands. That is, a Level 2 player is able to guess some of the hands their opponent could be holding, and acts accordingly. This player considers how his opponent’s actions give information about what that opponent might have, evaluates his own hand strength in relation to that, and responds. This level of player will win much more often than when he was at Level 1, but not as much as he would at Level 3.

At Level 3 (the level at which I generally find myself), a player should win consistently. This player now has the ability to predict how his actions will influence his opponent’s reading of him. In other words, he is thinking about what his opponent is thinking about his hand strength. Confused? Understandable, but let’s see if we can’t break it down a bit. When I’m playing at Level 3, I carefully consider how every action I take will affect my table image. For instance, if I bet or raise, will my opponents think that I’m strong, or that I’m bluffing? If I check or call, will they believe that I’m weak or that I’m trapping them? As a general rule, you want your opponents to believe the opposite of the truth in order to get them to act in a manner that profits you and not them. But simply acting the opposite of your hand strength is not always going to deceive people. A Level 3 player realizes this, and disguises his strength (or lack thereof) with a fairly unpredictable playing style.

Level 4 (as you may have guessed) is simply the next iteration. You’re thinking about how your opponent is acting to disguise his hand, based on what he thinks you think he has. If you’re not confused by now, I applaud you. To simplify: your actions are all made considering his Level 3 play. This sounds simple enough, but in practice, this ability requires continual concentration at the poker table. For an online player multi-tabling, I would say it’s nearly impossible. It’s extremely difficult to maintain this level at a single table, much less two or more. This is the level at which most professionals are able to play a significant portion of the time. My play (on very rare occasions) reaches this echelon, but for the most part, I’m relegated to Level 3 and below.

The purpose of this treatise is not to teach you how to play at the higher levels. That will require practice and experience on your part. But you should be aware that these levels exist. Why do you care? How exactly does this information improve your bankroll? The answer is simple: it will help you in selecting your opponents. The object of poker is to make money, and you will make the most by taking on players that are playing at levels beneath your own. The farther beneath, the better, in my book – but that subject has been debated. But you definitely don’t want to play against players at your level or higher, at least not for substantial stakes. Once in a while I will play against Billy or some of our other friends for a few meaningless bucks, just to spar a bit and sharpen our skill-sets. But never for the amounts I play for with strangers. Why not just take the easy money?

As you continue to play, you will find yourself rising gradually from one level to the next, without any conscious effort. And occasionally (i.e., when you tilt) you will temporarily slip back down to lower levels. That’s just a part of the game.

As always, this is just advice ... you can take it or leave it. But if I took my own advice, and always played at as high a level as I’m capable, I would see fewer downswings, and the downswings I do see would be smaller.

So like always, Do as I say, not as I do …