poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

, an isolation play is usually a raise designed to encourage one or more players to fold, specifically for the purpose of making the hand a one-on-one contest with a specific opponent. For example, if an opponent raises and a player suspects they are holding a weak, but playable hand, they may reraise to pressure other opponents to fold, with the aim of getting heads up with the opening raiser. Isolation plays are most common against overly- aggressive players ("maniacs") who frequently play inferior hands, or with players who may have a

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

hand. Isolation plays are also common in

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

to isolate a player who is "short stacked", that is, one who is in imminent danger of elimination, and so is likely to be playing aggressively out of desperation. However, when a player is extremely short stacked compared to the rest of the field in a tournament, making him bust will sometimes be more profitable than winning his chips, so inducing overcalls from other players trumps isolation play.
Isolating is encouraged when holding a hand that fares better heads up than in a Poker jargon#multi-way pot, multi-way pot. For instance, when a player has a small pocket pair they may raise a large amount simply to knock out other players because typically a small pocket pair is about 50–60% likely to win an all-in pot in a heads up situation, but less likely when facing multiple opponents.

References

Poker terminology Poker strategy {{poker-stub

See also

References