Let's Talk Poker Details

                                                             Let's Talk Poker Details

    It has often been said that poker is a game of incomplete information. With anything in life, we make decisions all the time based off of information.  The more information, the easier it is to make the decision.  A good friend of mine that plays mostly low stakes cash games often runs poker hands by me wanting my opinion on his decisions in a hand.  The conversations would usually start with him saying something like this..."I raised with AJ of spades and the flop came Q85 with no spades.  What should I do?"  I would then start asking him questions like "What position are you in?", "How many callers were there?", "What kind of players called your raise?", "What is your image?", "How deep are you and the other players?", etc.  His usual reply was "I don't know" or “I don’t remember”.  I tell him that those are all very important things that you need to know in order to make the best informed decision.  Put simply, the more you know, the better decision you can make.  After me saying this to him about a dozen times or so (at least), he thought he would be smart by now adding... "assume everything is average and everybody is an average player and we all have the same amount of chips".  I said to him, "You are missing the point!  You should never say everything is average".  

You don't make poker decisions in a vacuum.  I guess there are the times when you first sit down at a cash game and it's a brand new game and you don't know anybody or the very first hand of a tournament when you just start.  Even then you should be looking at how much people are buying in for (in a cash game).  Additionally, you should make some very general assumptions about the players based off of clothing, mannerisms, ANYTHING that can maybe give you some information.  In fact, you should also talk to players and get to know more information about them to help you determine how to play against them.  You may eventually need to adjust those assumptions based off of the information you receive as hands continue to play out.  That’s fine.  You should still at least have a starting point.

    When I get to a cash game, I usually get a seat change button so that if needed, I can move into a potentially better spot at the table if needed.  I've often had the person next to me say something like "Yeah I don't like the 1 seat either."  I would just kind of smile and nod my head in agreement not wanting him to know that there is obviously a strategy in where you sit.  That's information I gain even before I play my first hand at the table.  I now know that the 2 seat doesn't understand position which means he is most likely a novice.  I can now use this knowledge in my strategy.  If the table is tough and you can get moved to another table, DO IT.  Ask the floor person for a table change.  

Next,  it’s been said a thousand times but it's worth repeating, once play starts, PAY ATTENTION when you are not in a hand.  We've all been there watching a game on TV or saying hello to friends, but you should always have an eye and an ear on the game.  Eye-Watch how players are handling their chips, the speed of their bet, their consistency in their physical actions at the table.  Ear-Listen to what they are saying, if they go from being chatty to instantly quiet, if they are sighing, etc.  All of this is useful information!  There are lots of good players who make paying attention look easy.  They are paying attention to the game without it looking like they are.  Trust me, they know what's going on.  You also obviously want to always see the cards that are flipped over at showdown for future reference.  Take some mental notes.  You can never have enough information until you have it all (which obviously you never do).

    Getting back to my friend, the last time he asked me about a hand and said…"Assume everything is average and everybody is average and we all have the same amount of chips", I said to him "Hey I am going to set you up on a blind date".  He said "Tell me about the girl."  My reply was "Assume she is average and everything about her is average".  I think he got my point.

---Frank L. DiRe

Nerdthusiast Content Writer
inthemoneypoker@yahoo.com
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