Isolating An Opponent

By Wesley R. Young

One of the most powerful and useful plays in poker is isolating an opponent. The term isolating means betting in a situation, or betting a certain amount, in order to play a hand one-on-one with an opponent. For example, you are in a tight holdem game, the first player to act enters with a raise and it is folded to you in late position. You re-raise so that those left to act will have to call three bets to see the flop (two more for the big blind). This way, only the best hands can afford to call behind you and you will know that you are against a very strong hand. Isolating can be effective in limit and no-limit holdem as well as most other forms of poker.

There are certain hands that you should try to isolate an opponent with and there are some that you should encourage other callers with. Hands such as high pairs and AK play best with only one opponent whereas you should encourage other callers with hands that must improve to win such as suited connectors and small pairs. Another good situation to try to isolate an opponent is when you are a much better player, particularly after the flop, than an opponent. Many times when you find yourself in a game with a maniac, many good players will try to isolate the maniac, as he/she will often enter the pot with an average or poor hand.

Most of the time you want to isolate an opponent when you have position on them. By showing strength before the flop and having the advantage of acting after a single opponent, you have a very strong position in the hand. You can check behind your opponent to see the turn or river for free as you don’t have to worry about a bet behind you, and when your opponent bets, you can call without being worried about a raise behind you.

Another reason to attempt to isolate an opponent is the information that you may gain before the flop. For example, in the above situation with the early raiser, if you have a pair of jacks and try to isolate the early raiser, if he/she re-raises, they are clearly showing a great deal of strength. This tells me that your jacks will probably need to improve in order to win the pot. Against most opponents, a re-raise in this situation means one of the following hands: AA KK QQ AK. For this reason, you should proceed with caution, especially if an Ace or King hits on the flop.

If you haven’t already done so, add isolation to your poker strategy toolbox and start looking for situations to use it effectively. Until next week, good luck at the tables!