Another Poker Axiom to Guide Your Poker-Playing Life

Hi. Come on in. My crockpot, even though it's summer, has been simmering a batch of my special chili since midnight yesterday. I hope you like it hot (not scorching, but hot enough to add thickness to your eyebrows). Grab some garlic toast and dig in.



Today we'll talk about something that will add greatly to your peace of mind and calmness of spirit: a mental state in which it is easier to think of plays and variations of plays, which makes it easier to win. Draw close and pay heed.



At some point in your poker-playing life, whether you're a player new to our beloved game or a veteran of many years of play, you will hear the poker axiom that "good players beat bad players." Usually, the second part of that axiom is left out, which is, "in the long run." The entirety is true, but what also is true is that bad players do beat good players.



If you are a skilled player, you will be beaten mostly by unskilled players. As a matter of fact, bad players beat good players more than good players beat good players. "What," you cry, "how can that be?" There are several reasons. Let's look at a couple of them.



Bad players don't recognize good play, but good players recognize both good and bad play. (They will recognize you as being a good player, if that indeed is the case.) The good players will tend to get out of your way when they are supposed to – and bad players don't know when they are supposed to. Of course, if the good player has the better hand, he's going to beat your ears off. However, he isn't going to be playing when he has no business in the pot, and draw out on you.



Bad players do draw out – a lot. That's because they are most often playing long shots, or hands with few outs, hoping against hope that they can catch a miracle card. Bad players are in the game just to play, never mind long shots or their number of outs.



It has been estimated that 85 percent to 90 percent of all players are unskilled, so, of course, you'll be playing mostly against that type of player. (Thank the poker gods for that.) It therefore follows logically that most of the time, it will be bad players who beat you, just by sheer force of the number of opportunities. Sometimes those players do make their long-shot draws and put bad beats on you, and with so many of them attempting it so often, sometimes it has to happen. If you're in the way at the time – zap – bad beat.



You lose to bad players mostly because they have too much gamble to them and haven't sense enough, nor care enough, to get out of your way. They came to play, not watch. When you raise with a big pair, it's the bad player who calls with a middling hand. If a good player believes that he has a better hand, he probably will reraise, or will lay a trap for you. The bad player came to play, so he just calls and keeps drawing into your better hand without having the proper pot odds, and sometimes he gets there. Most of the time, he has no idea what he's done, while you cringe, silently. Stop cringing.



This is where I bring to you the peace of mind and calmness, and easier winning. Congratulate your opponent. "Nice hand. You really got me with that one." Maintain a friendly attitude – not for his sake, but for your own. Also realize that if he didn't win now and then, he wouldn't come back to play; thus, a lost "live one." It's just too bad that he had to make his occasional win against you, but stewing about it won't help, and can only hinder your ability to continue to think straight.



I recommend that you tape this note to your refrigerator: "If I'm willing to play with idiots, I shouldn't be surprised or upset when they play like idiots." And remember what we talked about a few moments ago: Good players beat bad players in the long run. So, settle in for the long run.



Now I require repose. Take a baggie full of chili 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 tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome. Roy's toll-free number is 1-800-548-6177 ext. 03