Folding - Why the simplest action is often the hardest to do.

Have you ever been in a situation where your opponent has made a bet you know you shouldn’t call? Of course you have, every poker player has. You’re positive that he has you beat on the flop, and even if you’re lucky and he’s on a draw, you’re probably little better than a coin flip to win the hand. These aren’t favourable odds, and not worth the risk, so why is it that I see so many people call in this situation?

Yes, sometimes you catch your opponent on a complete bluff, and you look like a genius when it happens. Maybe you have a really good read on this player, or you know that he’s still steaming from a previous hand. But is it really worth it to call on little more than a hunch? Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

Pre-flop: Under The Gun (UTG, means first to act) raises three times the big blind, two players fold, you look at your hole cards to find As-10h, and decide to call. Everyone else folds, until the Big Blind (BB), who also calls. Poker is a game of information, and so far you have very little information about what either player may be holding.

The BB could easily be holding any two cards at this point. Two players are in the hand for a small raise, and he has already committed 1/3 of the chips needed to call. He knows that he will be able to see the flop for this price, because he’s the last person in order to be able to call UTG’s raise.

UTG can also have a wide variety of hands. A relatively small preflop raise from an early position often suggests strength. They could easily be holding AA, KK or AK, just waiting for someone to re-raise them, in the hopes of getting all-in. Of course, as this becomes more common, it’s easy to take advantage of the situation, and raise with hands like 7-8 suited UTG.

The flop brings, Ad-7c-6c. You’ve just hit top pair, with a 10 kicker. Not a bad hand, but certainly not time to start raking in the chips. Being last to act is generally considered to be a good position, because you have the benefit of seeing what the other players do before you do anything, but it can also put a lot of pressure on you to make the right decision.

BB checks, and UTG bets, this time significantly larger than the first bet. He counts out his entire stack of chips, then pushes exactly half of them into the pot, which is 15 times the size of the first bet, sending the message that he wants to go all-in. It looks like a bluff, and everyone at the table knows it, especially the player making the bet. Everyone has about the same amount of chips, so now you have some pretty important questions to ask yourself to determine if you should fold, call or raise.

Did UTG have you dominated preflop (AA, AK, AQ, AJ), in which case you’d be praying to hit one of three 10s left in the deck. Maybe he only has KK or QQ and is trying to buy the pot, making you fold a superior hand. In which case you’re in great position, if you can make the call. But there’s still another factor left.

The BB is patiently waiting behind you, and you have no idea what he’s going to do, and no idea what type of hand he has. He checked after the flop, but that means nothing. He could have rags, but he could have a variety of hands worth calling the massive bet. Maybe he has 77 or 66 for a set, but no matter what, you likely don’t want to be playing for all your money against 3 players, especially when you have no idea how strong they are.

My advice, FOLD. It’s not easy for everyone to do in this situation, but you can’t lose what you don’t put in the pot. Maybe you did throw away the best hand, but they’re are too many hands that have you beat that UTG would likely have. Plus, there’s still a chance that BB has a strong drawing hand, putting you in even worse shape.

If this seems like a tight play, well that’s because it probably is. I’m generally considered to be a loose player, I like to play a lot of hands, and force myself to make the right reads. I’m not always successful, but the one rule I play by is to be the aggressor, not the calling-station. Force players to fold hands like the one described above, or to make a great play against me.

Incidently, the UTG player was me. I had pocket Aces, but was afraid of the flush, so I played the hand as if I was bluffing. The player with A-10 actually did fold, but the BB pushed me all-in with 77, for a lower set than mine. It was a good night of poker.

Which Player Type Are You?

If you’re like me, and you tend to play against the same group of people most of the time, then hopefully you’ve noticed that each player has their own tendencies. My core group of about a dozen guys has players that run the complete spectrum of poker styles, from the obviously predictable to the blatantly erratic. Each style has it’s own benefits. Take a look at these player types, and try to identify who in your group fits each category, and also decide what category you best fit into.

THE BANKER


The Banker will play a very simple style of game, will almost never bluff, and will always bet at the flop if they think they’re ahead. These players are just trying to avoid the bad beat, content to win small pots, and not put too much at risk. Bankers tend to stay pretty quiet at the table, letting their play do the talking for them. They don’t play many hands, but when they do, it’s predictably a strong starting hand.

Bankers are often easy to bluff out of a pot. As they don’t like to put too much at risk, they will often fold the best hand, telling themselves that they now live to fight another day. They’re also not likely to do a lot of “acting” when they are holding the nuts, and you bet into them. If they call or re-raise when you try to raise them out of a pot, then it’s time to move on to the next hand.

THE POLITICIAN

The Politician loves to take chances. They will call pre-flop raises with less than desirable starting hands, hoping to catch a flop where they can bluff you off a stronger hand. They are also very talkative, trying to play subtle mind games with you during the hand. For example he’s just bet out at the flop, and while you’re deciding what to do, he’ll turn to another player at the table and say, “I had to bet, I hit top pair, but have a weak kicker”. They would play every hand if they could get away with it, and often make pre flop raises with bad hands, causing strange results when the cards are revealed.

The play of a politician will likely have more influence on the entire table than any other style of player. Often in a tournament, this player will be either double up or be eliminated (or both) before the end of the first blind level. They came to gamble, which you can use to your benefit if you are able to slow-play a strong hand. Let them do all the work, betting in to you, then start raking in the chips.

THE PROFESSOR

The Professor is the guy who knows all the rules, and has read at least a dozen different poker books. They may even contribute to an on–line forum or blog (or even write a monthly poker column), anything to show that they have more knowledge about poker than you. This type of player will calculate pot-odds, even when not in the hand, and is always quick to point out where other players went wrong in any given hand. If they’re not playing a premium hand, it’s almost always suited, or connected, or both.

Only talkative while observing the hand, the Professor is capable of playing loose or tight, but is prone to making bad plays trying to look like a genius. He will also be the first to point out any breach of etiquette that has occurred.

THE CEO

Just like in the business word, the CEO is at the top of their game. They’re able to play a variety of styles of poker, just like the professor, with one major difference. When they change their style of play, it’s a result of knowing whom they are playing against. The CEO will play a variety of hands, but generally stick to the stronger ones. They don’t like to bluff often but they know a Banker can be bluffed off a hand and they know the Politician will try to play and win every pot. The CEO is playing you as much as he is playing his own hand.

To become a CEO, you have to first realize who you are right now. Take advantage of your reputation by changing your style of play for a while. If necessary, show your hand on the river, even if you don’t have to, to get your point across. If you’re a Banker, show everyone that you bluffed, if you’re a Politician, show your big hand. Let them know you’re capable of mixing your game up, then when you do revert to a more familiar style of play, you will be less predictable.

Playing Poker in your Underwear

I’ve been playing poker consistently for a number of years now, generally with the same core group of guys. Every summer, along with the warmer temperature, a disturbing trend continues. I play fewer live games.

Many of the guys are off at cottages and golf courses, playing Fastball, Softball, Lob ball, Slow-pitch, T-ball or any other bastardized beer league version of baseball you can name. Maybe they're
spending time with friends and family, taking vacations or just trying to soak up a bit of sun. It seems that their priorities are on anything but poker. To me, this is just wrong.

So what is a guy like me to do? The nearest casino with legalized poker is a 2 hour drive away, and I don’t think my wife would approve of me spending weekends playing poker. Shockingly my 2 kids don’t place poker very high on their list of priorities either, at least not yet anyways. Hence my annual pilgrimage to the magical world of on-line poker.

To enter the world of online poker is like walking down the strip in Las Vegas. It’s got all the glitz and glamour you’ve come to expect at any Vegas casino with the convenience of being able to play in your underwear. I’ve never been a big fan of playing on-line. I much prefer the personal interactions, subtle nuances and other intangibles offered at a live game. Being able to watch how an opponent counts out his chips or how they respond to being re-raised is lost with on-line play.

That being said, on-line poker is a lot more than just a guessing game. There’s a lot of information that can be used to your advantage, but you have to make certain assumptions combined with observation to evaluate the skill level of your opponents. Every major on-line poker site offers the ability to write notes about the other players at your table. If you’re like me and have a ‘Swiss Cheese’ memory, then you will find this service to be invaluable. Use it every chance you get to make small comments and reminders about players tendencies.

Did they get caught in a bluff? Did they try to over-bet the nuts? Did they call a sizeable bet pre-flop with a questionable hand? Poker is a game of information, the more you have, the better your chances are of success. Next time you’re at a table with a player you have notes on, be sure to review them, and keep them updated. Also, keep in mind the situation, as every hand is different. Maybe they called a big raise with a mediocre hand, but if they were the dominant chip leader at the table, and there were four players in the pot, it might be worth it to call with a weak hand.

Also be aware of players who always take a long time to make any decision. This could mean several thing, not the least of which being that they’re annoyingly slow, but it could also mean they are playing in at least one other game at the same time. One of the advantages of playing on-line is the ability to play multiple tables at the same time. I’ve watched top-rated players play 3 or 4 games at the same time on-line, each for up to $100,000. These players are more likely to play a very basic, conventional style game. As they are constantly switching from one table to another, often playing more than one style of poker such as Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Stud, Horse and more, it’s harder to bluff or read a bluff because they don’t have a feel for the table. Of course, there’s always exceptions.

Another key to successful on-line playing is choosing the level that’s right for you. Surprisingly, a lot of players play at levels beneath what they can afford. This often decreases the quality of play in cash games, as a masterful bluff might be called just because your opponent can afford to lose the money. As a tournament Hold’em player, I find that playing anything below the $10 entry fee is just asking for trouble.

Poker Tells

As long as poker has been played, players have been studying their opponents trying to figure out their “tells”. You may observe that when your opponent bluffs, they tend to whistle the theme song to the Dukes of Hazard. Sadly, this type of player rarely exists, and picking up a tell is much more difficult, and requires patience and keen observation.

What is a tell? In poker terms, a tell is an an unconscious action made by one player that can give another player some insight into the quality of their hand. So how can you get information from your opponents? What should you be looking for the next time you decide to put your mortgage on the line to call a big bet? In this case, you should be looking for an exit, because you likely have a gambling addiction. For everyone else, here’s a good starting point for reading your opponents, specifically for No Limit Texas hold’em.

To start with, poker is a game of deception. This means that if someone is playing a hand like they don’t have very much, and seem reluctant to call a bet early in the hand, they likely have a very strong hand. Conversely, if they are acting like their hand is very powerful, often slamming the chips into the pot when they bet as if to say “I dare you to call”, there’s a good chance it’s a bluff. Strength means weakness/weakness means strength.

Body language can also play a strong role in acquiring more information about your opponent. Players who like to bluff will often assume confrontational physical gestures such as crossing their arms, or aggressively leaning on the table staring at their opponent. The idea behind these unconscious actions is to portray strength. Police officers often position themselves to appear intimidating, therefore reducing the chance of actual conflict. The bluffer is doing the same thing.

More information can be gathered by watching how your opponent reacts in various situation, especially in relation to their hole cards and poker chips. For example, watch your opponents when they first look at their hole cards. Did they take longer than normal to look? Did they take a second look? Often this is a sign of a very strong hand. A hand so good, they wanted to make extra sure of what they saw. Once they finished looking at their cards, where did they look next? A player that immediately looks at their chips is often trying to size up exactly how much to bet, again, another sign of strength, but not necessarily a sign of a good hand.

Another common tell occurs after the flop. 3 spades have just shown up, and your opponent is thinking “Hmm, I know I have A-J, I think one of them was a spade” and they peek at their hole cards to see which one was a spade. If they’d had 2 spades, they would have remembered so they probably wouldn’t need to look. Now the turn card brings another spade, they peek at their hole cards again, and bet big. They’ve probably hit their flush, so unless you have a flush that might have them beat, you should probably fold.

They could also realize that this is a good time to try and steal the pot, because they know that if you don’t have a spade, you’re probably not going to call their bet. Poker is as much about playing your position and your opponents as it is about playing your cards.

Finally, you’ll eventually have to figure out what type of player you’re dealing with? Do they play a lot of different hands, or are they very conservative, sticking to strong starting hands. Do they like to bluff, or are they prone to fishing, meaning they will pay a high price to see the next card, hoping to catch an unlikely card to make a monster hand?

The more information you know about a player, the better your chances are of success. Poker is a game of skill and luck, but despite how much you know about a player, no matter how sure you are about how you’ve read them during the course of a hand, there’s always the chance you’re wrong, and even when you’re right, it can turn out wrong. That’s why I love this game.

Here are a few books with more information on the subject of poker tells.

The Slumpbuster

In all forms of competition there seems to be a time when even the best competitors appear to be performing at a level less than they are capable. There seems to be no logical reason for it, and no explanation on how to fix it. This is commonly known as a slump.

On an average week, I play in three to five No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournaments, and although it’s not for big money like the pros play, the level of play is generally pretty good, and each tournament is taken very seriously. As every poker player should do, I keep track of statistics and make notes about each tournament I play in. 2006 was my best year in four years of playing Hold’em, but I endured a two month period that had me leaving the table shaking my head in disbelief.

I’m sure every poker player has suffered the notorious “Bad Beat’. This is when, for example, you’re holding Ace-Jack, the flop brings AJ- 4, and you push the remainder of your chips into the pot, knowing you almost certainly have the best hand. One player, usually with a lot more chips than you, calls your all-in, and flips over Ace-4. You both have 2 pair and you pair of Jacks beats his pair of fours, but when another 4 shows up on the river, giving your opponent a full-house and the winning hand, all you can do is stand up from the table, shake your head and walk away.

In the example used here, you pushed all-in and were a huge favorite to win the pot, but poker is a game of statistics, which means if there’s an 80% chance for you to win the hand, then there’s also a 20% you will lose. When the improbable 20% chance actually comes through, we curse the Poker Gods for their cruelty. The two month slump I most recently went through featured a string of 15 consecutive tournaments where I never finished in the top 50%. I’m sure this is something every poker player feels he has dealt with. Almost every hand I was eliminated with, I was a statistical favorite.

There are a lot of reasons why this happens. I was playing too many hands early in the tournament, and taking too many chance, resulting in being shortstacked after a few blind raises, forcing me to play hands more aggressively than I would otherwise like to do. But what about the other times?

To answer this, I look to the slump. I feel I was playing well, but for no logical reason, the Poker Gods seemed to be conspiring against me. Now, I don’t honestly believe that there is some supernatural force watching me play poker and making bad things happen to me, but this form of superstition can be found in all forms of competition, especially during a slump.

So how do you break out of a slump? In professional sports, I have heard many stories of players doing a variety of things to stop a slump. Anything from altering a superstitious pre-game ritual to altering their style of play or even shaving their heads. Then you have the Slump-Buster.

"Slump-Buster" is a term I first heard about from an interview on the Jim Rome Show with baseball star Mark Grace (pictured here while playing for the Cubs). Now retired. Mark Grace describes the type of woman who he believes helped him overcome on-field struggles.

When Grace (who’s name now appears to bring new meaning to the term “irony”) would find himself in a hitting slump he would seek out "the gnarliest, ugliest chick" he could find and attempt to "lay the wood to her". If he was successful, the next day he was sure to break out of his slump, hence the phrase.

Now, I’m not recommending that you do anything of this sort, but instead I’m offering a fresh idea. An offering so great, that the Poker Gods will most assuredly look down upon you, and grant you favour and good fortune at the poker table. The next time you find yourself in this type of a slump, and you peek at your hole cards to find pockets Aces, fold them. If possible, show everyone at the table what you’re doing. You’ve just made poker’s ultimate sacrifice.

Does it sounds crazy and superstitious? Of course it does, there’s no such thing as Poker Gods, and it’s idiotic to lay down the best hand possible. On the other hand, it’s worked for me...twice, and I won’t hesitate to do it again if I feel I need to.

Hole Card Nicknames

Here's a list of some of the more common nicknames for starting Hold'em hands.

Pocket Pair

AA - Bullets, American Airlines, Pocket Rockets
KK - Cowboys, King Kong
QQ - Ladies, Sigfried & Roy
JJ - Fish Hooks, Princes
TT - Binary
99 - Gretzky, the German Virgin
88 - Snowmen
77 - Hockey Sticks, Saturn
66 - Route 66
55 - Speed Limit, Presto
44 - Sailboats, Colt 44
33 - Crabs
22 - Ducks

Other Big Hands

AK - Big Slick, Anna Kournakova (Looks good but never wins)
AQ - Big Chick, Little Slick
AJ - Black Jack, Ajax
KQ - Royal Couple
KJ - Kojak

Other Notables

K9 - Canine
Q7- Computer Hand
Q3 - San Fransisco Busboy
J5 - Motown
T4 - Roger That
T2 - Texas Dolly
95 - Dolly Parton
69 - Big Lick
5T - Five and Dime
57 - Heinz
45 - Jesse James
31 - Baskins Robbins

What is the Double Nut Flush Draw?

In poker, especially No-Limit Texas Hold'em, many starting hands have nicknames. Some are funny, some are incredibly lame, some even have more than one nickname. Others may offer some insight into the perceived quality of the hand, and even the mental state of the person coming up with the nickname. Such is the case here.

I (to the best of my knowledge) came up with the nickname of The Double Nut Flush Draw for pocket Aces. I just blurted it out during a tournament I was playing in, when I called an all-in with Aces vs my opponents Kings pre-flop. In this case, I'm better than a 4 to 1 favorite to win the hand, but as I have a history of taking bad beats, it felt more like a coin flip as my opponent grinned, as if he knew he was going to suck out here.

Sure enough, a King mockingly appeared on the flop, and I let out a now signature sigh, accepting the fates the poker gods had dealt me. But wait.... the turn card brought a 3rd diamond on board, and guess what? I had the Ace of diamonds in my hand. The beautiful river card was a 4th diamond (and not one that paired the board to give my opponent a full-house, been there, done that), and my flush won the pot, much to my delight.

My opponent, now standing up to walk away from the table, was visibly upset, and said to me "Wow, you're one lucky S.O.B.", and shook his head in disbelief. I quickly retorted "Hey, you never had a chance, I had the Double Nut Flush Draw". I resisted the urge to remind him I was more than a 4 to 1 favorite when we got all our money in the middle, content to rake in his chips, and let him think about his "bad beat" for a while.