Anticipation: You Can't Gamble Without It

Hi. Come on in. I've prepared one of your favorite palate pleasers, from Chicago – hot Polish potato salad. I concocted it in my microwave.



Let's talk today about some of the "stuff" of winning poker. What I call stuff is anything that isn't strategy but is still important to consistent winning.



During one of our recent conversations here in the dark corner of your poker mind, we spoke about "chasing," and why people chase. That got me thinking about why people gamble. I believe that we gamble because of … anticipation.



Prove it? Maybe. Explain? Sure.



It was while I was walking through a sportsbook on the way to a poker room that this theory came to me. You can make a wager today on an event, the outcome of which won't be known for several months. Games like the Super Bowl and the World Series can be bet on even before the start of the football and baseball seasons. The other end of the spectrum is that you can put a coin into a slot machine and know if you won or lost in just a few seconds.



The excitement of gambling for most people is in the time interval between placing the bet and knowing the outcome – whether that's a few months or a few seconds. It is a period of … anticipation. Most poker players, whether or not they even realize it, are not in the poker room to make money, but to play poker. As Nick the Greek put it, "The next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing. The important thing is playing." So, for most poker players, playing skillfully is not the most important thing – gambling is.



The gamble is what sets up the anticipation. That's why so many players don't wait for a good hand. If they're waiting, they're not playing. No gamble, no anticipation, no fun. That's why you often see a hand get checked around, except for the last active player, who bets no matter what he is holding. If he checks, there won't be a "period of anticipation."



One of the reasons why so many players play so badly is anticipation. It's why so many are willing to consistently take a small pair against a big pair – why they are willing to chase. It puts them into action; they're not sitting, and watching, and waiting. Action. Gamble! Anticipation!



More of the "stuff" of winning poker: Hold'em is said to be a game with fewer drawouts than seven-card stud. This is true – but it's of little comfort when you are drawn out on. So, you must still be alert. Take comfort from the fact that it is generally the poor player who draws out on the better player. If you continue to play a solid game, you'll continue to be favored over your poorer competition. If you get your nose open and play down to their level, your win expectation will also drop to their level.



And more: Don't give your opponents a free look into your head. Most players are reluctant to divulge information about their hands and how they play. A player who bets on the end and doesn't get called almost always will throw in his cards without showing them. Or, if there is a showdown, he will try to be the last one to turn over his hand. If a better hand shows first, he will muck his cards without showing them. This makes good sense.



Why, then, will this same player, if he has to abandon his hand before the showdown, tell everyone what he had, what he was hoping for, and by how far he missed. By doing this, he is giving out the same information he tries to hide at the end of a hand. Don't fall into this "free information" trap.



I never seem to run out of winning "stuff": I've been asked why most pots seem to be won by marginal to good hands, rather than big hands. It's simply because more marginal to good hands are played. And that's because there are more of them available to play than there are big hands available. That's a problem for those who play only with the big-card theory. A player waiting for only big cards will be eaten up by the antes or blinds. And there is no guarantee that those big cards will win. (That's why you and I need to play more marginal hands.)



Recipe? What recipe? I just throw in what seems to fit. Learned about it from an old Polish woman in Chicago. Now with a full tummy, I require repose. Take some for your breakfast and kill the light on your way out.

Roy West, best-selling poker author, continues giving his successful poker lessons in Las Vegas for both tourists and locals. Roy's toll-free number is 800-548-6177 ext. 03. In Las Vegas call 873-7574.