Bad Feeling, Good Result

These days, lots of players are studying poker. They read books, study the odds, and, as a whole, make reasonably good decisions. That said, the majority of those players struggle to beat the game. Most of those who do, don't beat it for much. They can get the best of rank amateurs who put little or no effort into the game, but they give up much to those players who have a good feel for the game. By feel, I mean being able to read hands and situations well and then adjusting your play effectively based on those reads.

Once upon a time, I played poker 50-70 hours a week. Now that I don't put in nearly the amount of time I did when I played poker for a living, my feel has somewhat deteriorated. It takes the experience of watching opponents over many hours to gauge their emotions, mindsets, and knowledge level. When you can accurately gauge those variables, your opponents are in big trouble. When I played poker daily, feel was the strongest part of my game. Feel is an intangible element, and somewhat tough to describe. Some players seem to naturally have it, and some very intelligent poker players never seem to be able to grasp it!

I recently watched a poker pro make a play that lacked feel awareness in a limit hold'em game. Two loose tourists had limped in from up front and another player, not a worldbeater by any means but he was trying to play well, raised and was called by a player in middle position and a tight-playing woman on the button. The pro, holding the A 5, called from the small blind. The big blind called, as did both of the limping tourists.

The flop came down 6-4-2 rainbow with one club. The field checked to the preflop raiser, who also knuckled. The middle-position player then checked to the woman on the button, who bet. The poker pro with the A 5 called the single bet. Getting 15-1 current pot odds on the call, it seemed like he had an easy call with a gutshot-straight draw, a backdoor-flush draw, and an overcard. But there were several factors that weakened the call that required some intuition, feel, and perception.

First, on purely a poker knowledge level, the gutshot draw was the community's, and even if made was not assured of winning the pot, by any means. Another player could have a 5 and leave the pro drawing to only half the pot. Also, a 7-5 was a possibility that would shut out the gutshot draw completely. Either of the two limpers or the big blind was highly capable of playing a 7-5 suited. If a scenario exists that includes the possibility of an opponent holding a hand that kills your hand by turning your draw dead or almost dead, your hand has lost a lot of value, and more than most pros realize. Gauging the likelihood of that situation existing is important in accurately assessing the strength of your draws. We all know the sick-to-your-stomach feeling of drawing dead and getting there! Some know it more than others!

In spite of that, however, a call had some measurable value – until you considered the feel factor. The game was being played at a fast pace. There was lots of raising, check-raising, and reraising. While it appeared to the pro that he was going to get at least 15-1 on the call, the likelihood of the pot being check-raised in this situation was great. If he had to put in two total bets, the call would be significantly weaker. If it went to three or more, the flop call would be horrific if he either called the raises or folded, thereby giving him no chance of winning the pot in addition to throwing away a small bet.

Also, the player who raised preflop was highly likely to hold either a high wired pair or a hand that contained an ace. With the high pair, he would be check-raising, substantially adjusting the pro's price for the worse. With a good ace, he would likely peel a card off on the turn for a single bet, especially since his position was significantly superior to the pro's, with only a single player in a large field to act after him. He had substantially less risk of a check-raise after his crying call than the pro did. In either case – with an overpair or a good ace – the holding of the preflop raiser reduced the value of the pro's call, and the pro clearly didn't give this enough weight. Slipping that single bet into the pot virtually guaranteed that the pro was going to be in a tough spot in future action.

Two other players called the single bet and the preflop raiser check-raised. All of the participating players just called the raise. An 8 came on the turn and the pro called another bet with what was now a double gutshot-straight draw. He then caught a 7 on the river, making a straight with the 5. This was almost the best possible result for him.

He then made what I thought was an additional feel error in trying to check-raise the river, and lost the value of any calls he may have received. The player who check-raised the flop was also the bettor on the turn, and he likely held an overpair. Since he was trying to play well, had some understanding of the game, and was facing a large field, the likelihood of him betting with four to a straight on the board was extremely low. Add to the equation that most of the field was either tight or inexperienced (inexperienced players are generally less likely to bet without a straight on a four-card straight board), and the likelihood of the check-raise having value was almost nil.

It was checked around and the pro pulled in the pot.

The decisions the pro made in this hand seemed to be good on the surface to him, especially given the reinforcement of stacking the chips. But his lack of feel in this situation caused him to make bad plays. He failed to consider the likelihood of scenarios that weakened his hand, and did not account for the texture of hands that were likely to be out against him. If he was just having a bad moment or made a mental error on this hand, the overall edge cost was minimal. But, if the decision was made in error based on the pro's lack of feel and understanding of the applicable concepts in this situation, he is in for a hard life if he doesn't catch on quickly.

Nonetheless, the poker gods smiled on him and he dragged a nice pot. In poker, as in life, a turn of fortune beyond your control can make you look good or bad in any given situation. But the winners in poker and in life see beyond the results and recognize the substance of the situations.

The substance of poker is getting your money in when it's correct to do so, which includes feel, and good things will happen to you over time. Keep the faith, and you will keep your bankroll.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a free-lance writer in South Florida.