In last month’s column, I talked extensively about the state of poker and my guarded optimism about the game going forward. I received a surprising amount of feedback on the column, both positive and negative. Others shared stories of similar guarded optimism, while a few thought I was crazy to mention the United States and poker economies turning around. I appreciated all of the feedback (both positive and negative) and please continue to send me feedback about my columns or things you’d like to see me write about at rizen1020@gmail.com.
One of the positive results from all of this feedback is that I was contacted by Lou Krieger to do his radio show on RoundersRadio.com to talk about some of the projects I’m working on and poker in general. If you want to check out the interview and show, you can do so by visiting Rounders Radio.
There was one thing that Lou said on his show that rang so true to me, I felt I had to write something on it expanding further. Probably 30 minutes or so into the show, we came back from a break and he talked about hand ranges and playing in a local game with another fellow who played a hand to showdown with him. Upon winning the pot from Lou, he said something along the lines of “I just knew you had Ace-Queen, I knew it!” The point Lou and I were talking about on the show was that it’s very rare that you can actually know someone’s cards and, therefore, the importance of assigning ranges to people. However, I also felt there was another point to this statement that was really worth talking about.
Psychologically in poker, especially for more amateur players, we assign hands to players that we want opponents to have, but not necessarily the ranges they may actually have. You’ll often hear things at the poker table like “I put you on a draw” as excuses for people to keep pouring money into the pot with third and fourth pair. I always find it fascinating the innate desire that some players have to play “sheriff” at the table and look people up constantly so that the one time the catch someone bluffing, they’ll tell you exactly how they knew you must have been bluffing, even though the nine other times they called you down and lost, you weren’t.
I mention all of this not to poke fun at those types of players, as I’m never one to attempt to tap the glass at the poker table. I mention it because I think this psychological desire exists inside all of us to a certain extent. Being aware of it allows us to keep this profit bleeding beast in check. No one likes to be bluffed at the poker table, but the great players know that it’s okay to lay down the best hand once in a while because it will save them a lot of money in the long-run. It’s just something to think about the next time you’re contemplating a big hero call. Make sure you’re putting your opponents on a realistic range of hands and not just the ones you hope they have!
One of the nice things about being a poker player is that I get to travel a fair amount. The downside is that I’m always traveling for work and never for pleasure. It seems like I’m always in Los Angeles, Atlantic City, or Las Vegas. For the holidays this year, I went to Florida to visit some family and it was extremely nice to get away and relax, not to mention spend parts of December on the beach in warm weather as opposed to the freezing Kansas cold!
One of the things I think us poker players don’t appreciate enough (or perhaps take advantage of) is the tremendous freedom we have. So many poker players I know go to Europe or Australia and rarely leave the poker room or get away from their laptops. I do my best to enjoy the places I get to visit and take in a little fresh air. I love poker, but I love it for the freedom and opportunity it gives me as well as the game. If you have the privilege of winning a trip (as I’m writing this, I just got back from Atlantis), make sure you take some time out for yourself.
