When Knowledge is your downfall
The recent success of the World Poker Tour is really great for
the poker world. I don't think anyone can argue the contrary.
It's getting more people in the pokerrooms, more players in
tournaments and it's sharpening poker's image as a game of
skill.
There's been a huge amount of poker scenes on television in the
last year. Shows like CSI, Line of fire and Las Vegas all had a
character say poker is a great game where skill plays an
important part. Maybe some day we'll have the same recognition
as the bridge and chess players.
The fact that we get to see the player's hole cards on the World
Poker Tour not only makes for great entertainment, but it also
let's us dig into the mind and thought processes of sensational
players. Armed with this information, the studious and
experimented player can really improve his game. My friends and
I often say we are blessed to have started playing poker years
before the WPT so we can truly understand what's going on.
For the new players, however, it can be disastrous. Raising with
J6o without grasping the reasoning behind it, because your saw
Gus Hansen do it, can be pretty damaging to your bankroll. Moves
like this are often made because a player is attacking a weaker
player or a smaller stack. And he usually will have position on
him. You have to understand this.
When you see an expert player call a raise with a weaker hand
like 54s, it's easy to start doing the same thing. What you need
to get is that he's calling with a hand that's not likely to be
dominated and that he probably has great implied odds on his
opponent. He's calling with 54s and folding KJ. It's the
opposite of what typical player do. The reason is that he can
get himself in trouble with the KJ, if he's against AK, KQ, AJ,
JJ, QQ, KK, or AA. With 54s, should he hit 2 pair or better, he
can get a nice payoff with what should be the best hand most of
the time. There are so many details involved in a typical poker
decision that you can't get better at it by watching TV.
I've been noticing a big increase in the number of these weak
plays by new players. Players are moving all-in for $1500 in a
$60 pot. Players are bluffing calling stations. Players are
trying to bully bigger stacks. Although being aggressive is
absolutely essential to your poker success, you have to be
selectively aggressive. This means picking your spots, picking
the right opponent, picking the right stack the right moment.
If you are new to the poker world, watch the World Poker Tour
mainly for the entertainment. Read the books, practice what the
books teach. Then read them again. Once you become a winning
poker player, you'll start to grasp the concepts behind these
bold plays, and understand why they are made, and when you
should make them.
Nicolas Fradet runs http://www.livestraddle.com, the leading resource for free online poker, online
poker bonus for reviews of Party Poker, Empire Poker,
Paradise Poker, PokerStars, Pacific Poker, Full Tilt Poker,
Poker Room and Ultimate Bet.