DO THE SURE THINGS

The whole purpose of poker is to get into a position where you do have a sure thing and then use that sure thing to collect as much from your opponent or opponents as possible. In spite of this obvious fact, I recall numerous times I have been asked whether it is permissible to bet with a royal flush, etc. The answer is, of course it is all right. You will be betting on a sure thing, but remember, when you bet with a sure thing your opponent is by no means compelled to call you. When you check with a sure thing your opponent does not have to bet into it.

While this does not come under the head of how to conduct a poker game, I cannot go by this point without telling one of the many stories about a club which used to meet every Friday for an all-night poker session. Most of the members were very distinguished in the world of letters, and while the stakes were high, the game was relaxed and the humor scintillating.

One bright spring morning about eleven o'clock the membership, unshaven and bleary-eyed, staggered out into the street, and the first thing their eyes hit upon was a bright-faced boy accompanied by his governess. Columnist Frank Adams looked at the smiling boy and, turning to his companions, remarked, "Imagine keeping a child that age out until this hour!"

DIFFERENT BEHAIVOUR OF A PLAYER

If you find yourself in a game where there's an inordinate amount of raises on the flimsiest of cards, then that's a sure sign that you're playing against talent superior to yours and you should get out.

There is, however, one popular method of detecting poor players that I think is overrated and not that reliable. It is the method of watching to see how many or what proportion of pots he voluntarily enters to see the flop.

The conventional wisdom says that if he plays very few hands besides the blinds then he is a tight player and if he sees the flop with half of his hands then he is a loose player. This line of reasoning is probably better than no information at all but it can often lead you to the wrong conclusion.

With that many different hands out there it is possible, and often likely, that you can't find a playable hand in the first one hundred hands you're dealt. This means that when you see a player enter the game and not players hand for three hours, it's not always because he actually is a tight player. In this case, you should evaluate the quality of his play based on the actual cards that you see him turn over at the ends of his hands.

Mine, just by observing the players, just who you would like to play against and who you wouldn't. Here is a list of players you would like to play against:

Players You Want to Play Against

1. Off-duty Casino Employees

Skill at dealing poker does not equate to skill at playing poker. Dealing three hundred hands of poker a day does not teach you how to play poker. I've seen the magician levitate the girl a hundred times but I don't know how to do it. And "thank you" to all you poker dealers who bought a copy of this article.

2. Talkative. Loud, Smiling. Cheerful Players

If they're doing all that, they can't possibly be devoting enough mental energy to the game to beat the player who is concentrating on the game.

3. Beautiful Women

It's been my experience that good looking women haven't devoted enough time and effort to learn the game. They almost always are playing because they're waiting to do something else. Besides, they serve as a good distraction for the other men in the game.

4. Players with Tattoos

Anyone dumb enough to have them self tattooed probably won't exhibit a lot of intelligence at the poker table. They will unknowingly follow your lead at the poker table.

5. Players who Drink Alcohol

A player who's been drinking will start to play more carelessly, bet and call when he shouldn't, bluff when he shouldn't and generally play too many hands. And he'll usually stay and play and drink until he's broke.

6. Players Who Expose Cards

There are players who just aren't careful enough to protect their hands. If you meet one, I recommend you always try to sit on his left. You'll always know when to fold, call or rise. Also, you should try to look at your hand as soon as you can so you can decide if you intend to play it or not. If you're not going to play, don't make an effort to spy his cards. There's no reason to try to find out his hand if you're not going to play. That little bit of extra eye movement or slight turn of the head on your part could give away what you're doing. There's no need to risk it if you're not going to play your hand. And you'd be surprised to see how often it doesn't help to know what your opponent's cards are anyway.

REMEMBER THIS

Realize that it's a Showdown Game

And adjust accordingly. You are going to have to consistently have the best hand at the end to win. Realize that some players will play anything and they will often play it to the end regardless of any indications that they are beat.

Forget About Bluffing

A lot of low limit Hold' em players are not sophisticated enough to know you may have nothing but are representing a hand. You often won't be able to buy enough pots to make it worth your while to bluff. Somebody will always call to "keep you honest." There are times when it is correct to attempt a bluff but it must be done intelligently, for the right reasons, and under the correct circumstances. This will be covered in detail in a later in the article.

Play Rock-Solid before the Flop

The most important decision you make every hand is whether or not to get involved to begin with. A bad decision here can, and will, consistently cost you a ton of money. You have to play appropriately for your position and make decisions based on the odds. It is particularly important that you make the correct decision when the pot is raised before the flop since you will be investing a double or triple bet on your hand before you even see the flop. Most players play too loose when making this first decision.

Respect a Raise, Especially Pre-Flop

This goes hand-in-hand with the above advice. There just aren't that many hands that you can profitably play when the pot has been raised pre-flop. Computer analysis shows that if you can't beat the raiser head-up at this point, you cannot win money in this situation in the long run. Save your money for those times when you want to raise, not when others want to raise.

Don't Stop Learning the Game

You're not going to learn it all from this article. Talk to other poker players and read the Card Player Magazine.

My Overall Plan for Winning

Simple, to win the money. This does not mean that you have to play every hand. What it does mean is that you should be a favorite to win the hand when you do play. There are several general principles that you should keep in mind when your goal is to win the money:

Always Make the Correct Decision

Your real job is to make the best decisions you can based on the information available to you at the time. It actually doesn't matter if you win the hand or not. Remember, you can do the wrong thing and still win the hand but that doesn't prove that you played the hand correctly or that you're a good player.