Today’s poker tip is about putting the focus of a hand in the wrong place. It is always fun to watch the big names in the sport of poker do the sort of stupid things that would make most of us point and laugh at the fish who did the same thing. When you are a good enough poker player when people make a point of telling you just how wonderful you are, a strange thing happens to some folks; they believe it. There is nothing wrong with having a healthy sense of self-esteem, but when you start to think you are the best player at the table, quite often you start playing like you are the only player at the table.
In the past I have watched a number of very good players, making wild raises while a stubborn opponent calmly calls every action and keeps trudging forward. A lot of times this situation involves a flop like K-K-9. The good player is holding an A-K and feeling very good about their set of kings. While they are throwing money into the pot, they forget to ask themselves a question like “Why is this guy calling all my bets?”
While blinded by the power of a triad of Kings, the good player doesn’t consider what their opponent could be holding. In the case of this example (I could Neeeeeever be describing something that really happened to a well known player with a big endorsement contract and regular television appearances) the opponent was holding pocket nines. The next two cards did nothing to improve either player’s hand, and when the obscure player with the pocket nines went all-in during the last betting round, the “good” player with the A-K didn’t even hesitate.
The A-K was shocked when their opponent turned over a pair of nines. They treated the entire hand like there was barely an opponent sitting across from them; just a innocuous stranger throwing money at the pot instead of a guy with competing cards. While this poker tip should fall into the category of common sense, it seems it is one that needs to be occasionally mentioned. If you are a good player, don’t buy into your own hype to the point where you forget there are five or more other people sitting at your table, doing their best to take your money. Cards don’t care about your reputation.
That is the poker tip for today.
