Fancy Play Syndrome
As we improve our poker game, we add more and more plays to our arsenal. At some point, usually about the time we advanced to a good solid intermediate player, many players run into Fancy Play Syndrome. This happens so often that we have a name for it. FPS happens when we let our “knowledge” of certain aspects of the game outweigh the common sense approach of playing to win. Fancy Play Syndrome is playing to be noticed, playing to show off, playing to upstage other players and almost always FPS results in losing.
Some examples of Fancy Play Syndrome are:
- Betting when you should be calling
- Checking when you should be raising
- Calling when you should be folding
- Overusing tricky tactics
- Trying too hard to outplay every opponent every hand
Often times you can recognize FPS because it appears the player caught up in Fancy Play Syndrome is actually playing all of their hands backwards. Checking every strong hand to try and trap every opponent and inevitably letting them draw out on you. Or bluffing at every missed flop, the other players can’t always miss the flop just because you do. The other FPS problem that many players overlook is that for many advanced plays to work, your opponent has to recognize the play and believe you. Advanced plays often don’t work against weaker opponents.
The opposite of Fancy Play Syndrome is ABC poker and the way out of FPS is simply to go back to ABC poker. Once you are out of the woods, you can begin to add back the moves and plays you have learned but only when appropriate. Remember the winner is the player who takes home the money, not the one who looks good at the table.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #142
