Who Are You?

I was playing $150-$300 hold'em recently, and was fortunate enough to have a guy to my right who flashed his cards as he carelessly picked them up and tried to figure out what he had. And this was no act - the guy was absolutely clueless.

Ethical dilemma? Hardly. If a player in a $150-$300 hold'em game isn't smart enough to protect his own hand, it's my responsibility to punish him. So, when the flop came 10-6-5 rainbow and he bet out with his 7 2, I raised him with jack high, eliminated the field, and took down a $1,500 pot.

It was not a bad pot for a garbage hand, except for one minor detail: We were playing in a charity tournament. I was at The Bicycle Casino's tag-team media event as a representative of the World Poker Tour, and I found myself sitting next to this player, who was from a major radio station. After scooping in my chips, I quickly shifted into ambassador mode. I showed him how to pick up his cards, gave him a few pointers, and even let him sweat my hand. This, by the way, was completely out of character for me.

I'm not an unpleasant guy to play poker with. I've never asked for a deck change; I don't abuse dealers; and I don't shoot angles. Even so, I did have a bit of a mean streak, and I found that when I got in "combat" mode, I was a much better player. If I thought I could rattle someone, I needled him. If turning a bluff faceup might have put someone on tilt, I did it. If I wanted to see a called hand, even though I knew it was a breach of poker etiquette, I did that as well. All of this is very un-ambassador-like behavior, and off-limits when I play poker now.

Mike Caro talks a lot about table image and encourages you to try to make the game you play in fun. He reasons that if the live ones think you are there to gamble, just like they are, they'll play worse and you'll increase your expectation. It's sound advice, and in principle, I completely agree.

The problem is that this image has never worked for me. I happen to be a big guy who is rather menacing-looking. And while those looks have cost me some dates over the years, I think they've made me money. At times, it allows me to push weak-tights around. At other times, when I'm up against players who seem to get some satisfaction out of trying to push the big guy around, it allows me to trap them or manipulate them into overplaying their hand. And when I can mix that in with some timely needling, I really gain an edge.

But that part of my game is gone now. Every time I sit down in a poker game, I am representing my book, my literary agency, Card Player, and now the World Poker Tour. Good golly, you couldn't meet a nicer fellow than Greg Dinkin at a poker table these days. And because that behavior goes against my true character at the poker table, it has been costing me money.

This year at the World Series, a friend of mine made it to the final two tables of one of the $5,000 buy-in events. This player will remain anonymous (we'll call him Ashley), but all you need to know is that he's an excellent tournament player who is relatively new to poker and happens to be hilarious. As Ashley moved into the money and the crowd at the rail kept growing, he was putting on quite a show. He flashed his cards to the railbirds behind him as he was cracking jokes and whooping it up - all the while building a nice stack.

When they went on a break, another friend of Ashley's, a well-respected tournament veteran, pulled Ashley aside and told him to knock it off. "This is the World Series of Poker!" he said. "There's big money on the line, and you better cut that crap out. T.J. Cloutier, Erik Seidel, and John Juanda aren't exactly Tom, Dick, and Harry." Trusting his friend more than his gut, Ashley heeded the advice and became the perfect gentleman. Twenty minutes later, he was eliminated.

When Ashley later told me this story, I couldn't help but think of the advice that my best friend Bryan has been giving me all my life: Be yourself. As a newcomer to poker with a great sense of humor, Ashley had the perfect table image. And not only did it change the way his opponents played against him, more importantly - and this is the whole essence of this column - it helped him play better. It's the same premise behind why Seattle Supersonics all-star Gary Payton constantly talks trash during a game. Whether or not his trash-talking actually distracts his opponents doesn't really matter. What matters is that being himself allows him to play better. Ashley and I have learned the hard way that what's good advice for others doesn't work for us - if it goes against our character.

I urge you to listen to others and keep an open mind, but ultimately, rely on your gut before heeding anyone else's advice. No matter how sound it is for others, if any behavior isn't in line with being yourself, it's unlikely that it will be effective. To that end, Ashley has gone back to being a ham at the table, and I've promised myself that unless I'm playing in a charity tournament, I'll be in "combat" mode every time I sit down at a poker table from here on out.

I look forward to needling you sometime soon.

Greg Dinkin is the director of marketing for the World Poker Tour (www.worldpokertour.com). He is also the author of The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You're Dealt (see the ad in this issue), www.thepokermba.com, and the co-founder of Venture Literary (www.ventureliterary.com).