The Clone Table Theory

Imagine that you are playing at a deep-stack, 9-player NLHE cash game table. Your 8 opponents are clones of you. They are not simply like you, they are you – exact clones of you today. Consequently, each player has exactly the same skill level and playing style.

How could you win in this game?
1. Avoid mistakes.
2. Randomize your play.
3. Have a bigger bankroll.
4. Get lucky.

If you are playing at a table against equally-skilled opponents, the best way to win is to reduce your mistakes and randomize your play. Even if your opponents understand your playing style perfectly (i.e. they are a clone of you), you can still be unpredictable by randomizing your play. Open with a wide range of starting hands. Play recurring hand types (i.e. draws) in different ways (sometimes call, sometimes raise). Respond to aggression in different ways. Make your opening raise constant (3xBB, as Mr. Ferguson teaches), but vary your post-flop bet or raise amounts.

There is also a key external factor – bankroll size. A bigger bankroll will allow you to better withstand bankroll fluctuations, and a bigger bankroll should provide more confidence, thereby reducing mistakes (or at least the fear of making mistakes) and enhancing aggression.

As players move up in playing levels, they get closer to the theoretical Clone Table. Over time, the natural selection process that occurs by winning at lower levels and moving up to higher levels brings together players that are more closely matched in style and ability. Picture the table in Bobby’s Room populated by Brunson, Ivey, Chan, Reese, Hanson, etc. – they all have large bankrolls, play aggressive, randomize their play, play with confidence, and avoid obvious mistakes. They aren’t clones of one another, and certainly have different playing styles, but in theory their skills are the most closely matched because they have risen through the ranks of weaker players and reached the poker pinnacle where the most highly skilled players compete.

These suggestions aren’t anything new, but imagining a Clone Table helps to emphasize the key attributes that would allow you to compete and win against equally-matched opponents, as well as lesser-skilled opponents.