Winning Wisdom

At only 27 years old, Gavin Griffin already holds one of the most impressive collections of poker's most prestigious titles: World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour championships.

Now, Card Player is giving its readers a chance to send questions directly to the poker prodigy.

Poker fans can send Griffin their questions to [email protected]. The questions can be about anything from poker strategy to his opinions on certain aspects of poker or his life as a poker pro traveling the circuit. The best questions will be answered by Griffin and published in Card Player. If your question makes it into print, we'll send you a free Card Player T-shirt.

Learning to Read Hands

One of the most rewarding things to do is get a good read on your opponent's hand. What is the best way to learn this skill? Specifically, is there a book, a computer program, or other resource you could recommend? Playing thousands of hands is great, but is there a better way?

- Rick Sutliffe, Folsom, California

Hi, Rick:

There are tons of things a person can learn from computer programs and books. Unfortunately, for the most part, you can learn how to read your opponent's hand only by playing a lot. The more you play with specific persons, the easier it will be to read their hands. You learn more about the hands they play from certain positions, how much they bet with a big hand, how much they bet with a weak hand, how they look when they have a big hand, how they look when they have a weak hand, and so on. There are so many factors that go into learning how to read a player's hand that it would be impossible to list them all.

Here's what I do when I'm putting someone on a hand. First, I look at his position. For the most part, you can put someone on a tighter range when he is playing from earlier position and a looser range when he is playing from later position. Then, I try to think of other hands that I have seen this person play. Is he loose, tight, passive, aggressive, tricky? Next, I look at his state of mind. Has he taken some bad beats? Is he on tilt? And finally, I remember the action in the hand. All of these different pieces of information are clues as to the hand he holds. You won't be able to find any of this information in a book or software.

However, there are a couple of books out there that can "teach" you about tells: Mike Caro's Book of Tells and Read 'em and Reap by Joe Navarro and Phil Hellmuth. Caro's book is pretty outdated, but it is useful against novices. Also, it's good because some more advanced players will give off fake tells based on that book. Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent who teaches seminars on body language. I haven't read his book, but I've heard that it has some decent insights on reading body language and applying that to poker.

What I'm trying to say here is that there is really no substitute for experience. Yes, it's good to have some information from books and the like, but you can't really put someone on a range of hands unless you are paying attention to what is going on and can use the pieces of the puzzle that your opponent gives you to make a clear picture. The best players in the world use every piece of information they have in their memory against you. Remember that poker is a game of incomplete information, and whoever can get the most information and use it correctly is going to be the most successful.

Player Behavior

Gavin:

I am an online poker player who lives in Virginia. I have never played in a casino before and I rely on TV for all the live play I see. When ESPN started running the World Series of Poker for 2008, I didn't miss any of it. I have always been a big fan of Scotty Nguyen, but I thought his behavior during the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament was uncalled for and downright nasty. All of the respect I had for him is gone, and I didn't enjoy the final table at all because of his unprofessional actions. Is this normal behavior for persons playing poker in casinos? How do you as a player deal with this kind of behavior?

- Dean

Hi, Dean:

Fortunately, these are not normal actions of players in casinos, and are not typical for Scotty Nguyen. Like anyone, Scotty can get upset and a bit tilty, but for the most part he treats other players well. It was a sad thing to see, but it's also a good thing to see. Poker players are human beings too, and we are subject to emotions. We get upset when things go poorly and we get excited when things go well. For the most part, we try to keep our emotions hidden, and perhaps we should, but it's good that we get to see this side of Scotty so that people who idolize poker players realize that perhaps there are better role models out there in the world than us, as a whole. Sure, there are some you can look up to, but there are probably better worlds from which to pick your idols. There are many inspirational stories in the poker world, such as guys like Scotty and others who have made good lives for themselves after escaping tough situations. We can look to them as symbols of perseverance, but not always as models of behavior.

In regard to how to deal with players who get out of hand, I suggest first trying to let them settle down. If they can get themselves under control before outside intervention is needed, it's best to handle it that way. Just ignore them and don't let it affect your game. If a player starts abusing other players or the dealer, then it's time to get someone else involved. Call a floorman over and have him do his job. I think this is where the real failure of the situation occured. The staff at this year's WSOP did a great job, but they dropped the ball in a few situations. They should have done something about Scotty, no doubt. He was abusive toward the other players and the staff. This is unacceptable and should have been dealt with. It's not like they didn't know about it, as they were right there. The situation with Phil Hellmuth during the main event was another one that they messed up. Phil obviously did something that warranted getting a penalty. It showed a lack of confidence in the floorpeople for Jack Effel to overturn the decision that was already made. It also looks a lot like favoritism when two of the biggest stars in poker don't get penalties when they clearly deserved them. Nobody deserves to be treated the way Scotty and Phil treated their adversaries, and Phil, Scotty, or anyone else doesn't deserve special treatment just because he is more famous than other players.

I wish things had gone differently at the final table of the most prestigious event in poker, but they didn't. As always, though, there is a lesson to be learned about how to conduct yourself, how to deal with a player who is out of control, and what involvement the staff should have.

Gavin Griffin is a member of Team PokerStars. Visit his website at www.gavingriffin.net.