Zhuge Liang’s Empty Fort Strategy

"Like everything else in the world, poker chips will always flow through the path of least resistance. Don't struggle. Don't strain your mind. All you have to do is play better and have patience. Oh, and bring a few extra racks, because the money will come."

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On this turn, you might say Joey was deciding for the entire hand. A call here would have implications for the river. If he made the wrong decision, it could cost him the whole match!

With care, Joey analyzed the decision from every angle. He tried to use his empath ability to feel out Richard's mood, but didn't get a clear read.

Experienced players were calmer. They had seen every hand 100 times, been through every situation, felt every kind of tilt that ever rattled a man. Their emotions had already been broken and tamed like wild horses. It was tough for any hand to shake them. They knew how to hide their tells and were wary of giving away information. Joey's empath ability wasn't all-powerful versus pros at this level. Still, it wasn't useless either.

Joey felt that Richard held good cards, or at least Richard believed he did. Joey didn't think Richard was bluffing. The problem was that in heads-up, good cards composed a wide range; It could be a king or a hand as weak as A5. Even a flush draw with a pair of 5s was possible. On the opposite side, many potential hands were ahead of his J9. Worse yet, many river cards would be bad for him, and would put him at an even tougher decision later.

Joey struggled in his mind. He was on the fence, but in the end…he couldn't find a fold. J9 was a bit too strong to let go of.

So Joey called...Though, if he was only a bit weaker, he would've thrown the cards away.

The river came [9♦ 5♣ 3♦ K♥ 2♥].

Joey checked.

"I also check," Richard announced.

When Joey heard that check, he knew his J9 would win. If Richard held something stronger, he would've value bet the river. Yet, instead of being happy, Joey frowned!

The two flipped their cards over and the dealer ruled Joey the winner, pushing him the pot. Even with the sizeable amount of new chips in front of him, a welcome sight to any player, Joey's eyebrows remained knitted.

At the other side of the table, despite losing, Richard wasn't upset. In fact, he showed a light smile!

It was Joey, the winner, whose frown grew deeper as he analyzed the previous situation. The reason was simple. Richard outplayed him!

It was a tactical defeat!

The two armies disengaged, leaving corpses of soldiers and horses on the battlefield. One army suffered greater losses, but the outcome didn't dissatisfy the general Richard was not dissatisfied. He held off his enemy with much weaker numbers!

It was a defensive victory!

Even though Richard lost, he lost less than he could have if he only called the turn and let Joey bet the river. Joey would've made a much larger river bet than Richard's minimum turn raise.

On top of that, Richard almost forced Joey to fold the best hand!

Joey sweat a little when he considered what could've happened. 'If instead of J9, I had T9, 89, or anything weaker, I would've folded for sure! That would've been a catastrophe!'

Richard beat Joey back and almost defeated him through the power of position. Richard used his position like higher ground to form an aggressive counterattack tactic that almost toppled Joey's army.

In addition, the unusual minimum raise forced Joey to second guess himself, creating decision paralysis. It was like Zhuge Liang's famous Empty Fort Strategy.

That was a strategy from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where strategist Zhuge Liang knew he couldn't defend a fort from an oncoming army, so came up with a brilliant plan. He disarmed his few soldiers and dressed them as civilians, while he sat above the wide-open fort gates with two boys in a state of complete exposure. He put on a calm and composed image by playing a musical instrument. To the invading general Sima Yi, this was a total shock!

The invaders expected a fierce battalion, not a defenseless general playing music on an open fort. Since everyone knew Zhuge Liang as a careful military tactician who took few risks, Sima Yi concluded that there was an ambush. He forced his troops to pull back from a sure victory. The invincible invaders retreated!

Zhuge Liang's reputation was similar to Richard's in that Joey knew Richard was a tricky player capable of various moves. He observed this through the complex tactic Richard used in their last cash game when he pretended to be a drunk. As a result, on the turn, Joey only considered calling and folding. He didn't consider reraising enough. It was his blind spot.

In poker circles, the move Richard made had a title. Joey had heard of it, but it was very rare to see it applied in a no-limit game. Players called the maneuver the "Turn free-showdown play." The name referred to the effect of the play; If you had position, by raising the turn, you could later check back the river and get a free showdown.

This turn maneuver boasted of many positives and few negatives. However, it was very risky in a no-limit game where your opponent could reraise all-in, so most players never even consider using it. Richard wasn't like most players.

Joey wondered. 'If I was in Richard's spot, would I have made that play? Would I have played it as well?' It didn't take long to come to a conclusion—no.

More than ever, Joey now understood that this was the toughest opponent he'd ever played against.

Even though Joey was outmaneuvered, this hand also illustrated another general point to him. 69 lost to J9 because it was outkicked. This was an example of the importance of a good kicker. A marginal kicker could trap a player all the way to the showdown. When outkicked in a hand, you also wouldn't have many outs to get ahead, making things even worse. It would be like being tied to a sinking ship, unable to escape, and with very little chance of rescue--a nightmare scenario!

Joey sighed in relief when he thought about it. He was lucky to be on the winning end this time, but this wouldn't always be the case.

…

Richard's superior play wasn't only highlighted in that hand. As the two played more hands, his rich tactics continued to shine. Richard was outplaying Joey!

Aggression!

Thin value bets!

Good laydowns!

Well-timed bluffs!

Manipulation through position!

Through various expert strategies, Richard got the best of Joey by utilizing his greater knowledge and wit.

This was Richard's advantage from his many years of experience on the battlefields.

As the two played more hands, the edge in chips that Joey gained in that last big hand was blunted down…until it no longer cut!

Joey's knitted eyebrows formed creases as he gazed over his army. Not long ago, it was mighty. Not long ago, it was superior in numbers and morale. He peered at his great rival on the opposite hill. No matter how many times he tried to crush him with numbers, no matter how many times he attacked, the enemy's defense held strong, and now? Joey feared he may have pushed too far…

'Am I in trouble?' If he couldn't see it or admit it before, the enemy had forced him to now. Richard's technical level was higher than him!

The chip advantage Joey gained before was eviscerated! Richard was the chip leader! Now, Joey would face the attack.

'If it keeps going this way…I'm going to lose!' Joey ground his teeth as he struggled to come up with a strategy, any strategy that would save him…