PokerWorks

There's probably one secret to winning more than any other.

Are you ready?

Don't pay the donkeys off.

Easier said than done. I'll show you what I mean.

I'm playing with $75 at $50 NLHE at PokerStars and a player in middle position puts in a raise to $2. I look down at - . Well, that's pretty cool. I like this hand. I'm in the small blind, unfortunately, but otherwise this hand is looking good.

We've had a caller, and the chances are fairly high the Big Blind will come along, and I don't want four people in this pot when I've got an overpair. So I pop it to $6.

It's a good raise, but I wanted to bet at least the pot to get out most of the callers. In fact, if all of them fold here, that's not a bad result.

Sure enough, the Big Blind folds, the raiser calls and the button folds. So I'm heads up. Perfect.

The flop comes - - .

That seems like a pretty good flop for my Aces, so I bet the pot, which at this point is $14. That's a big bet on my part, and it should discourage any draws.

But he calls. Hmm.

Well, I'm either facing a draw, a set, or another overpair. A draw seems unlikely, which means it's either a set or maybe Q-Q or something like that. I think if he had Kings he would have re-raised me pre-flop.

I'm definitely betting the turn.

A falls on the turn. That card doesn't scare me too much, so I bet the pot again, and at this point that's $32. That probably commits me on the river, but if he has a set, so be it.

The player calls again. Weird. Does he really have a draw? I think if he had a set here he'd probably push knowing that I was fairly committed at this point. The same goes for an overpair.

The falls on the river. I grimace. I have $23 left, and I shove it in. It's not even the pot.

My opponent calls instantly, turns up - and rakes in my chips.

Wow. What a donkey. He called a re-raise with J-10 offsuit, then called pot-sized bets on the flop and turn when he had no odds to do so. That's bad poker.

Then again, I could have saved $23, which isn't insignificant, given that that's half my original buy-in. I knew had a draw and gave him an extra $23 on the river when he hit his hand.

And so I ask you. Who's the real donkey?