Incognito, or Undercover in Plain Sight

You're a relatively new player to poker. You want to have some fun, maybe make a few friends, and possibly even win a little money. Most importantly, you want to learn! No one walks into any vocation or hobby as a know-it-all, do-it-all professional. So, let's learn.

We've already covered how helpful the staff and floorpeople can be. Any questions you might have about seating, betting limits, house rules, types of games offered, and so on can be answered prior to sitting down in any game. When you finally do get into a game, be ready to bluff immediately. No, I don't mean on the first hand that you play. I'm referring to your table demeanor.

The actions you make or don't make and the way you carry yourself will be important not only on the first day that you play, but throughout your poker career.

One of the first things my father taught me was: "If you're at the table for 20 minutes and don't know who the fools are, take a walk to the restroom and look in the mirror." He was right!

To this day, I often watch a game prior to playing in it, so that when I do sit down, I feel like I've been part of the action. Players often flash their cards so that I can see them when I'm watching a game, and I can get a read on their style of play. Also, I can sometimes pick up players' tells (movements or idiosyncrasies that give away lots of useful information). These factors give me an edge that can help me win when I sit down. This is when your table demeanor becomes important. This is when you must hide the fact that you are a new player. It's now time to go undercover!

It is very common for a player who is relatively new at poker to seek gratification or justification while playing in a game. Let's look at some examples:

I was playing in a hold'em game and was in the small blind. The fifth person to act raised, and everyone folded to me. I looked down and found A-A, the best starting hand in the game. I three-bet it (reraised), to eliminate the big blind and get heads up with the original raiser. However, the big blind called and there was three-way action. The short version of this story is that the big blind held 8 2, and he flopped two clubs and rivered a flush. He then turned to me seeking justification. "Hey, I know you reraised, but they were suited, and after the flop I just couldn't fold even though the cost would have been high if I didn't make it. Wouldn't you have done the same?" he asked me. My reaction was pleasant, even though I might have been steaming inside. I said, "Of course, I would have played it just like you did. Look at the size of that pot! Great hand!" This gentleman had "new player" written all over him, and even though it's my job to try to educate you here, I promise you that I will never educate you while we're playing in the same game. Had he taken the pot and not said anything, I might have read him as merely being a loose player, and would have adjusted my play. As a "newbie," he immediately became susceptible to the moves and plays that professionals often use on new players, including encouraging him to continue his style of play. The only information the new player is going to get in this situation is false information.

Another day, a person was standing behind me on the rail while I was in a seven-card stud game. I got up to stretch my legs, and he started a conversation with me. His first words were, "I'm next on the list for this game," and then he started discussing some hands he'd seen and the way they were played, including a few of mine. During the conversation, I used such terms as doorcard, fifth street, and first-position betting. It soon became apparent to me that he was new to the game. The more he talked, the more I realized that he knew very little about certain strategies. He was also the type of player who considered only his own hand, and not the possibilities of the other hands. And remember, he had just told me that he was next up to get into the game!

In one way, I applaud this gentleman for watching the game, trying to learn before getting into it, but then he made a tactical error by almost saying outright that he was a new player. When he finally got into the game, I played him accordingly while being very friendly with him. He even checked the best hand to me on numerous occasions, allowing me to catch up. He got lots of false information from me that night, and paid me for it with his chips.

There are many places and ways to learn this great game, but showing that you're a new player in a casino setting isn't one of them. You must stay undercover and use your five senses to learn. Yes, it may cost you in the short run, but as I said at the beginning of this article, no one walks into this game as a pro. It takes time and knowledge. There are poker forums, newsgroups, and websites online, including CardPlayer.com, where questions can be asked without the ramifications of playing with the person who's answering them. Also, you can watch live-action games without buying in to the game. In casinos, I find discussion after discussion of the games and the hands that are being played. Oftentimes I'll see pros having a debate about a particular hand or game, and I'll just stand nearby and listen. And, of course, there are countless books available about games, strategies, tells, and so on.

I will try to answer as many of your E-mails as I can, and will even answer some of them here in my column. I plan to talk about strategy and hand selection enough that you can get through until you feel strong enough to come out from being undercover.

So, for now, go to the casino and play. Feel free to talk at the table, but confine your conversation to things other than poker. Make friends and have fun, but don't talk or ask about strategy, as you're bound to get the wrong answer.