Poker Perambulation

I can never win with you

I try but you don’t let me through
What’s the point in fighting when we’re down?

Relationships can get strained. Ever so true in our poker microcosm. Like our earliest relationships, we are selling ourself – at times with the help of a potent potable.

Like the bar scene of my younger days, there’s more BS than sincerity at the tables. And, most of those I run into are about as sincere as I was in my early 20’s. It wasn’t my line as much as being 6′5” with regular features and a decent job. Sitting at the tables, the lines are even lamer.

We classify those showing up at the poker happy hour. They’re as clichéd as my contemporaries and I were at Butch McGuire’s.

The obvious one at both is the action junky. At Butch’s he bounced from girl to girl. He seldom stayed long enough to score but he sure got around. At the tables – the cheaper the better – he predominates. He has a calling rate that sometimes reaches 100%. He never met a hand he didn’t like. One or two of those at a table are great. We mumble -EV as they occasionally suck out on us. When they predominate at the tables, they become a force majure. All of a sudden, your solid play becomes the -EV hand.

At the very opposite is the brick. In the bar scene, he was the guy that showed up for that 2^nd free one. Sat there staring at the bar surface like it was a Picasso. Remarkable in that a space opened up around him that the active folks never breached. I think it is a there but for the grace of God thing for the guys noticing him. At the tables he is the brick, he commits less than the girl thinking about becoming a nun.

You can’t be that shy at the tables. But, some are. Passive is about the nastiest thing you can say about a player. The brick or rock can be as unproductive (-EV) as the worst action junky. At the limit tables, he bleeds from a thousand cuts – aka blinds, ante and rake.

In between are the rest of us…hopefully. We wander into the scene and occasionally get lucky. With practice that increases. It is not all a bed of roses but we usually walk out with our self-worth intact. We may do that only because we aren’t privy to what the lady said to her girl friend as we left.

Like the bar cosmos, the table reflects our real personality more than we realize. Image at the tables is everything. The girl shares her read of us only with her friend. We make our reads and they are easy when the line of BS never changes. The people at the tables practice there line with unfailing consistency far to often for their own good. You can succeed with varied patter. My Poker Tracker shows winning players of all stripes. It isn’t easy but it is possible. What makes it impossible is often the lack of flexibility. It provides a read that you can put in your notes hewed in stone. There’s no way that can be overcome in the long term.

Glenda has detailed the other types nicely in a current article here. It goes into more detail. Detail never interested me that much. But, I couldn’t/didn’t ignore it. Detail is the application of consistent response and results. It is part of the whole but should not control. To do that leads to average responses. It is the domain of the grinder and accountants. We’d rather be that trial lawyer in the deerskin jacket or the hot Wall Street guy with the unlimited expense account. The rest of us actually fit somewhere toward the middle. That goes for the bars, tables, and, currently, politics. If we avoid the cubbyhole at all of them, we’ll have more success. There is nothing worse than being taken for granted.

It is simple. Change gears or perish.

ADDENDUM:

Hosanna! Hosana in the highest. I finally had a winning session at the .50-1 table. Did I pick up some great hands? Hell yes. In 41 minutes (57 hands) I won $27.85 for a BB/Hr rate of 40.76. Now all I need is 5 more like that and I’ll be a winning player at .50-1. ROFL or crying – take your pick.

For my protestations and writing to the contrary, I am a somewhat loose player. I tend to play pot odds and position. On my off days, I’m a boring passive. That is about as -EV as it can get. But, the real negative is the other off day that sees me too aggressive. That does seem to fit with the idea above to not provide the perfect read. Where it misses is sticking with a tenancy. Many don’t make notes. They live in the moment. If you provide them with that off day – even if it isn’t your norm – they will pounce on the flaw.

ADD +1: A second +$20 session at .50-1 just a bit ago. Get thee hence Satan!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 11:51 am and is filed under Journal, Poker Philosophy. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.