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(Wednesday, January 11th)
Like many young players I became engrossed
in poker almost immediately after watching Chris
Moneymaker win the 2003 WSOP on ESPN. Just as
I began playing the game, poker’s popularity
soared throughout 2004 and now seems to have
indicated that its new status in our popular
culture will possess at least some degree of
staying power.
Fresh into my new PartyPoker account, it took
me a few steady months of losing (is seven still
a few?) to realize that I could not even dream
of becoming a winning player without approaching
the game with a different attitude. Initially,
I treated poker with the same semi-reckless
vigor with which I had the sportsbook, blackjack
or horse racing (maybe you’ve gathered
that I like to bet a little bit).
Imagine how elated I was when I realized poker
was different.
The “right” attitude in poker consists
of being decision oriented. Most, if not all,
other forms of gambling are solely results oriented
for the simple reason that the concept of being
decision oriented is either totally or almost
totally impossible. We’ve all known the
gambler who bet on a football game or a horse
race and insists on telling us how he made the
right play, but his horse got a bad trip or
his team’s running back pulled a groin.
These types of variables are the hallmarks of
results oriented gambling. And if you think
you can be decision oriented at the blackjack
table, then you’re probably just not that
smart.
The idea that a lifetime of playing poker,
a “career” if you’re lucky,
is really all only “one big game”
has become cliché. But its tenets are
the basis of the “right” attitude.
Like most new players I initially seemed to
take special delight in telling bad beat stories
to anyone who would listen (likely even to those
who hardly understood how to play). This kind
of bad beat pessimism fit well with my personality.
Telling bad beat stories typifies the results
oriented player (and often one who was only
a 3 to 2 favorite).
“Can you believe he sucked out with that?”
A good player who I respect (and also one who
advanced through the marathon Day 1 of this
year’s WSOP) explained the “right”
attitude to me in a way that has resonated since.
He said, “If you had seen his cards before
the flop you would have begged him to call.”
This statement could serve as the motto for
the decision oriented player. The idea is simple.
If you are putting your opponent in a position
to “suck out” or “get lucky,”
then you are wagering as a favorite. Getting
your money in with the best hand means you will
win more often than you will lose. This is decision
oriented poker.
Base your analysis of your own play on the
correctness of the decisions you make and your
results should improve. If they don’t,
there are a lot worse things in life than a
beer and a blackjack table.
J.W. Williams is a documented member of The
Professional Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get his premium
plays here.
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