Egocentric Thoughts

Hi. Come on in. I've done up some barbecue ribs and grilled garlic bread. Let's talk poker. We'll look at another of Roy's Rules. I'll take a moment to get to it.

Rational thinking goes a long way toward winning in poker, assuming that your rational thinking process is using correct strategic information. But even if your strategic information is the best, it will do you little good if your play is dominated by egocentric thoughts.

Here's an example: This happens most at the $15-$30 level of seven-card stud (I'll explain why later), but it can be applied to poker in general. The low card opens for $5. The next six players all fold. Player No. 8 now raises without a raising hand, as well he should. He is attempting to steal the $21 in antes and low-card money.

The low card knows the raiser is ante stealing, and doesn't like it one bit. So, up pops his ego to say, "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm not going to let you get away with that!" And he reraises, holding the worst three-card poker hand in the known universe. The original raiser now lets his ego get into our little drama, and puts in yet another raise with the second-worst three-card poker hand in the known universe. The low card, showing a tiny bit of sanity, just calls.

What happens next is highly predictable. The cards are dealt and these two players go to war. In about 60 seconds, the one who gets lucky is going to be raking in a nice pot and congratulating himself on his superior play. The other will be kicking his own butt for having gotten involved in this hand and blowing off half his stack. Either player could have ended up in either position. With rational thinking, this loss could have been minimized, and the potential for tilt avoided.

So, Roy's Rule for today (and every day) is: "Take your ego out of the game!"

This is not to say that you should give an opponent free license to steal from you; if you do, he will. You must put a stop to his ante stealing. But when you do decide to put him on notice and play back at him, do it with rational thinking. Pick a spot where you have some kind of outs, not "the worst three-card poker hand in the known universe."

Here's something I've too often seen in lower-limit hold'em games. Player A bets. Player B raises, not because of the value of his hand, but because he doesn't like Player A! These two go to war with the same predictable results we talked about a moment ago.

I've seen many a player go to war because he was upset after taking a beat from a person he considered to be an inferior player. He was going to "teach him a lesson about how to play poker." Need I say more? Anytime you get your nose open and decide to show someone a thing or two about poker, guess who is likely to get the poker lesson? Right!

Change of subject (sort of): This falls into the category of "poker tip." If you don't like a person, you will tend to either overestimate or underestimate the value of his hand. Lots of players have been busted because they played according to their evaluation of an opponent as a person, not their evaluation of his hand or abilities.

Play the positive expectation of your hand, not your negative evaluation of an opponent.

Now, here's the "I'll explain why later": Players moving from $10-$20 to $15-$30 find that the limits have increased 50 percent but the ante has increased 100 percent. While realizing that they must now be more aggressive, many carry it to an extreme. They become much too aggressive, using the compared overante as an excuse to justify their gambling.

This is also the limit that is perceived by some players to separate the men from the boys. Many players' egos now get in the way, demanding that they play aggressively, "like the big guys."

Players who survive $15-$30 and move up to $30-$60 usually do so because they learned to be selectively aggressive rather than just splash around. (While this is not a general indictment of $15-$30 players, it is the level where you find the most out-of-whack egos.)

It's nap time. Put a couple of ribs in your pocket and kill the light on your way out.

Editor's note: Roy West, author of the best seller 7 Card Stud, the Complete Course in Winning, available from Card Player, continues to give his successful poker lessons in Las Vegas to both tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome. Get his toll-free 800 number from his ad on Page 94.