"The Slow Game" - a poem by AKFortyKevin.
Limp, fold, limp, limp, limp, fold, fold, limp, limp, check.
Flop 48Q.
Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.
Turn 5.
Min bet, fold, fold, call, call, fold, fold, call.
River J.
Check, check, check, check.
"I have aces." "I have QJ." "I have 67, i was hoping you'd bet."
Next hand.
If you've ever played in a slow game, that little tale sounds familiar. No one raises, very few bets, lots of limping. All in all, it isn't a particularly profitable game for the aspiring pro, as everyone seems content to just let the cards fall off the deck and onto the table. The worst part is, it's incredibly, mind numbingly boring.
There are a couple ways to fix this though. Some of them go against many of the principles the pro should normally follow; in fact, on their own they usually involve a play with negative expectation, i.e. they lose money in a vacuum. Why try them? In the end, the money you gain by livening up the game will far outweigh a little short term loss. Without further ado...
Show The Bluff Pick your target. Say there's a loose weak player up front who limps in. He calls pretty much everything preflop, but folds if he misses his hand on the flop. Perfect. When it gets around to you, make a raise with a garbage hand. I mean REALLY garbage, like in the 72 offsuit realm. He'll probably call, then check to you on the flop. Why? Because he is passive and we already know that from prior hands. Make a standard continuation bet. If he missed, he'll fold.
(By the way, most hands dont connect with a random flop. This is the logic behind continuation betting and one of the reasons why aggression is so important in poker. If you can win all the hands where both you and your opponent miss the flop, you'll do very well in NL hold'em.)
Playing a really really bad hand is somewhat out of character for my game, but here's the big diversion. SHOW YOUR HAND. Lay that 72 offsuit out there for all to see. Let them know you're in there with any two cards, playing some poker. That'll send a buzz into the crowd, and it'll also give you a little more action when you go back to playing a solid game. Might piss off the one player, but hey, we picked him because he was bad at poker, so he's probably not going to come back to haunt us.
Straddle/Blind Raise Regrettably, in Atlantic City it is illegal to perform what is called a "straddle", i.e. willingly posting another blind at least double the regular blind, when you're first to act. But a blind raise works almost as well for stirring up the game. If it's 1/2, make it 5. Big spender! He didn't even look at his cards! Let everyone know how little the money really matters. The standard raise from that point will be to 15, 20, or more - a lot of action for a game where everyone was just limping only a single hand ago. Usually someone else will jump into the "crazy" gambling fun, and all will be well again. For 5 bucks you can't buy this kind of entertainment anywhere else.
The Sleeper Even better than the limp raise, because you do this one in position, from the button or right before it. Before the cards are out, throw a raise in. In AC that raise will stand if it comes around to you. Again you're advertising an insane lack of respect for money, and this rubs off on people - hey, it's a casino, we're here to gamble! Once your opponents start thinking that, the game will liven right up.
Buy A Round If you have the alcoholic tolerance of an ox, go ahead and buy a shot for every player at the table. They'll probably be grateful, and you'll take the alcoholic hit better than they do. There's a reason casinos serve free drinks, you know.
There are many variations on the theme, but the basic idea is to get your table thinking less about playing poker and more about "gambling", since you've got the edge as a pro in both odds and skill. Be careful, though - delve into this line too much and it'll be tough to tell a skilled pro from the drunken idiot who flings money at anyone willing to catch it.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Lying at the Table
Back from Ireland, and back at the tables. Finally! Ireland was wonderful, by the way. Between the Guinness, Galway, the Aran Islands, Guinness, seals, music, Guinness, bike rides, climbing over ruins, Guinness, and of course JAHmahsahn's Irish Whiskey(with its honey/vanilla taste and smooth, peat-free, finish), I could not imagine having more fun in a week. But poker calls, and yesterday I was met with an interesting question: what place does lying have at a poker table?
Obviously, deception plays a rather large role in the game of poker. Bluffing with bad hands, checking with big hands, and most other poker plays rely heavily on telling a story that is at odds with the true strength of your hand. However, what about after the hand is over, and what about talking while playing a hand? It's accepted practice that lying is perfectly ok at a poker table, but is there any inherent value to it?
Example: I raised preflop with AQ and got 4 callers. Hooray. Flop came A43. None of the players seemed to be the types to play pocket treys, pocket fours, or any ace, which are the only hands that can beat me, so I was fairly comfortable. It was checked around to me and I bet out about 60% of the pot, a standard continuation bet that I hoped a more perceptive opponent would notice I'd make with just about any hand. The first player thought for a long time, and seemed to be contemplating a raise(in my head: please raise! please raise! I'd already discounted all the hands that could beat me, so unless he had something like deuce five of diamonds, I was ahead). Eventually a disgusted look came across his face and he mucked his hand, as did the rest of the table. As I raked in the pot, he said to me, "Could you beat A9?"
Now....
The Truth Yes, of course I could beat A9. I had AQ, after all. I gain little by telling him the truth, though - I make him feel like he made the right play when he actually DID make the right play, and I'm very much opposed to encouraging opponents to play well.
The Lie What happens if I tell him that, no, I had QJ suited or some other such hand? Obviously if he believes me he will feel he played poorly when he actually didn't, so I gain something. But bragging about a "bluff" often has the rather unfortunate effect of pissing people off, and my style of game is centered largely around people enjoying losing to me. Angry opponents may make more mistakes, but the raise in aggression can cause some short-term variance in the game that I'd personally rather avoid.
Little of Column A, Little of Column B There is, of course, door number 3, which I chose in this case. Responding to his query, I said "Eh, A9 was probably not the best hand. Gotta call to find out though." This answer, in my mind, is playful enough not to anger someone, and reinforces what I'd prefer all along: don't raise me, just call me. Subtly, you can turn a good player into a calling station, a loose/passive weak player who is easily defeated.
In this case, the opponent was not thrilled with my response, so I quickly changed the topic to the universal Talking To Guys language: sports! A little 'Nova/WVU hoops discussion and everything was good once again. Hey, he'd lost the pot, but it was to a friend!
Obviously, deception plays a rather large role in the game of poker. Bluffing with bad hands, checking with big hands, and most other poker plays rely heavily on telling a story that is at odds with the true strength of your hand. However, what about after the hand is over, and what about talking while playing a hand? It's accepted practice that lying is perfectly ok at a poker table, but is there any inherent value to it?
Example: I raised preflop with AQ and got 4 callers. Hooray. Flop came A43. None of the players seemed to be the types to play pocket treys, pocket fours, or any ace, which are the only hands that can beat me, so I was fairly comfortable. It was checked around to me and I bet out about 60% of the pot, a standard continuation bet that I hoped a more perceptive opponent would notice I'd make with just about any hand. The first player thought for a long time, and seemed to be contemplating a raise(in my head: please raise! please raise! I'd already discounted all the hands that could beat me, so unless he had something like deuce five of diamonds, I was ahead). Eventually a disgusted look came across his face and he mucked his hand, as did the rest of the table. As I raked in the pot, he said to me, "Could you beat A9?"
Now....
The Truth Yes, of course I could beat A9. I had AQ, after all. I gain little by telling him the truth, though - I make him feel like he made the right play when he actually DID make the right play, and I'm very much opposed to encouraging opponents to play well.
The Lie What happens if I tell him that, no, I had QJ suited or some other such hand? Obviously if he believes me he will feel he played poorly when he actually didn't, so I gain something. But bragging about a "bluff" often has the rather unfortunate effect of pissing people off, and my style of game is centered largely around people enjoying losing to me. Angry opponents may make more mistakes, but the raise in aggression can cause some short-term variance in the game that I'd personally rather avoid.
Little of Column A, Little of Column B There is, of course, door number 3, which I chose in this case. Responding to his query, I said "Eh, A9 was probably not the best hand. Gotta call to find out though." This answer, in my mind, is playful enough not to anger someone, and reinforces what I'd prefer all along: don't raise me, just call me. Subtly, you can turn a good player into a calling station, a loose/passive weak player who is easily defeated.
In this case, the opponent was not thrilled with my response, so I quickly changed the topic to the universal Talking To Guys language: sports! A little 'Nova/WVU hoops discussion and everything was good once again. Hey, he'd lost the pot, but it was to a friend!
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