In the April issue of Ante Up magazine, columnist Mike Wolf talks about something that I see frequently at the poker table.
I recently played the WSOP Circuit in West Palm Beach FL. On Day 2 of the main event, I overheard two players at my table discussing strategy. This is bad for several reasons.
Wolf talks about a few of the reasons, then says:
You clue your savvy opponents in on how to exploit you. If you show your cards, tell the truth about what you had or discuss the hand you just played, you're giving your foe vital information.
Information is power when it comes to poker. We need power to win so I would advise you to skip the discussion while at the tables.
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ReplyDeleteIs 'Ante-Up' a new magazine?
ReplyDeleteI do my best to abstain from strategic discussions. The only time I ever seem to get drawn in is if a more timid person than me is getting berated for playing their hand a certain way. I may jump in to defend them if I could see why they did what they did. I try not to show that I can count outs and/or calculate odds and percentages.
ReplyDeleteI also rarely show my cards or reveal what I had unless I have some strategic or deceptive reason to do so. My standard answer when somebody asks me what I had is, "Sorry...don't remember." I remember getting absolutely screamed at when I was playing against an off duty poker dealer because I picked off his bluff. He bet. I called. He mucked. He demanded to know what I put him on (if anything) and what I had. I told him (in more polite terms) to f*%$ off.
Even I can understand that it makes no sense for poker players to show their hands afterwords or to talk about what was in them.
ReplyDelete@Coach: Yes, it's a magazine with some strategy articles and lots of results from WSOP Circuit events, World Poker Tour Tournaments and other big events.
ReplyDeleteFrom the little I know about poker, I can't imagine discussing strategy at a table! Where did the phrase, "Poker face," come from if not the effort of a poker player to give no visual or other indication as to his hand/situation?
ReplyDelete@jt88: if they pick your bluff, just keep your mouth shut.
ReplyDelete@lowell and dave: exactly!
Good life info too, not just for the poker tables.
ReplyDelete