November 07, 2005
"Every now and then you'll run into a very good, third-level Pokerparty player. He'll not only consider his hand and yours too, but he'll also be attuned to what you think he has. But you can and should bluff enough to optimize your wins. How often to bluff in order to optimize your wins is grist for another mill, but whenever you sense an opponent beginning to think along with you, that's the time to begin your campaign of disinformation.
Here's another example, and as absurd as it may seem, it makes it easy to illustrate the point about being a money favorite while not an outright favorite to win the pot. Suppose a wealthy eccentric is running around your favorite cardroom randomly tossing five-thousand dollar chips into pots. Let's assume you have flopped a flush draw in a $20-$40 hold'em game against only one Pokerparty opponent, and you know with absolute certainty your opponent has flopped a set of kings.
- All of this requires thought, but unlike chess where there is usually ample time to think about your next move, cogitate on whatever strategic ideas you are trying to implement, and consider what you might do to thwart your adversary's tactical thrusts there isn't enough time when you're playing poker. There's much to think about, and even the actions of those who have folded may need to be considered when contemplating the best course of action to pursue.
- But once he bet the turn you should have released your hand. At that point your chances for improvement were reduced, and less of an opportunity to punish him if you were lucky enough to make your hand. In a no-limit tournament you might have raised him all-in on the flop, if you thought there was some chance that he would have released his Pokerparty hand.
- Poker is a wonderful blend of skills, many of which are difficult to come by, often elusive, and frequently hard to grasp. Many have said that playing against the late Stu Ungar was like playing with your cards face up and his face down - he was that good at discerning his opponents hands. While you're not going to reach Ungar's skill level merely through drill and repetition, there are a raft of other skills that can be learned the way one learns anything else - by study and practice.
Although every credible Pokerparty pundit advises selective and aggressive play, there are times when checking is advisable, and unless you have reason to think a bluff might win the pot right there, holding a marginal hand in early position is one of those times that discretion is often the better part of valor. What Are My Opponents Like? There's no substitute for knowing your opponents. If you are playing against a habitual bluffer and you're holding any hand at all - even a marginal one, like second pair - you have to call when he comes out betting.
An elderly chap to her immediate right turned and said, "If you can call a double raise with 3-2 from the blind, what possible hand could you throw away on the button?" She looked him right in the eye and said, "If you're wondering why I called with 3-2 earlier, it was fate. That's all. I had a hunch. I could sense it." I heard that. The entire table overheard that exchange. And I did exactly what you'd expect me to do. I stood there amazed.
It's one thing to advise readers that they'll find more players seeing the flop, more callers in most hands, and not to get too tricky in these games - if, in fact, they get tricky at all - because someone will be bound and determined to keep them honest. I'm going to describe one of the most remarkable hands I've ever been involved in - it was surely wondrous to behold, even though I lost money - because this hand represents the polar extreme of low limit Pokerparty games.
