“Small Ball” was a term coined by Daniel Negreanu which refers to an advanced playing style in poker. It’s not exactly right to say that Negreanu invented the playing style, because there’s a big chance that the style has been employed by other poker professionals but they weren’t able to name it. In any case, the strategy was named by Daniel Negreanu, and is used by a lot of successful pros including Kenny Hallaert and Erick Lindgren.

Small ball poker involves the startlingly aggressive play of a wide range of starting hands. However, you only use small bets for each hand which eventually will be raised to quite a sum. It will inevitably save you from losses when certain plays don’t work to your favor. The small ball poker playing style is mostly used for MTTs, and rarely on SNGs and games involving cash bets.

You can always exploit the small ball poker style when you have a strong hand and you’re trying to disguise the strength of your hand. You can also create a loose table image with a small ball poker style. When you play small ball poker, you also lure and spot opponents who have weaker hands.

More than the timing of your bets, the image that you project to your opponents plays a key role in the success of a small ball poker game. They should be aware that you’re employing a playing style. If they’re just going to end up calling on all of your bets at a loose table image, you might have more success with a tight and aggressive playing style.

Tags: Daniel Negreanu, Poker, Poker Strategy, Small Ball Poker

Categories: Poker, Poker Strategy

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