Random Poker Thoughts

I’ve been in the poker business for more than 30 years. I constantly am amazed at some of the things I see people do or hear people say in the poker room. In this column, I’d like to share some of my recent random thoughts, in no particular order, about our amazing poker world.

How cool is it to hear poker and gaming expressions during mainstream television shows? Recently, I was watching a law show, and heard the prosecutor say, “He’s guilty … I’m setting the over/under for number of years he will serve at 25.” On another show, a doctor said, “It’s a very risky procedure … kind of like running a big bluff when you’re holding rags.”

Why would men want to play in a ladies poker tournament? I know that I wouldn’t want to go to a bachelor party or be part of a men’s fishing or hunting trip, so what would possess men to want to crash a ladies event? And when they do, why don’t the ladies just ignore them? I don’t think that clapping and cheering when a man goes broke is the right way to handle the situation.

Why do people say “I’m sorry” when they beat you in a hand? If they truly were sorry, why wouldn’t they have folded … or just given you the pot?

Why do people want to pay the bubble? That just creates another bubble. There will always be someone who busts out of a tournament just short of the money. It’s part of the game.

I don’t understand people who frequently ask for deck changes. Don’t they know that there are four deuces in every deck?

I wish players wouldn’t fold out of turn. This often happens in no-limit hold’em games when an opponent says, “Raise,” and people start folding before the player has stated the amount of the raise. I can understand the next player folding if it is a limit game, because the amount of the raise is already determined, but folding before an opponent announces how much he wants to raise in a no-limit game gives the raiser information, which can affect the amount of the raise.

Most players don’t exercise good money management. I constantly see players get up and quit with a small win, yet those same players will sit for hours and hours when they are losing.

Why is it that when you listen to poker players who are being reassigned from a broken tournament table, they always got moved from the button to the big blind? I guess it’s those same players who say, “Whenever I have pocket kings, an ace comes.”

Women’s skills at the poker table have vastly improved over the last decade. At the recent California State Ladies Poker Championship, I was thrilled to face many, many tough female opponents.

I am sick of our hypocritical politicians who believe it is OK for bingo, lotteries, and fantasy sports to be played online, but not poker. The recent closure of Pitbullpoker.com should definitely inspire changes in our laws in order to protect American citizens. We need licensing and regulation of the online poker industry, and we need it now!

Why are so many people foolish enough to lose hundreds or thousands of dollars at the poker table without ever having read a poker book or studied our great game?

Why do so many people believe that poker is waning? There were more than 1,000 entrants in the recent Borgata main event. There were more than 300 players in Bellagio’s recent $540 tournament, and this was while the Aruba Poker Classic and European Poker Tour events were being held.

Last but not least, I am happy to say that my passion for poker still exists after more than 30 years of playing. One of my favorite sayings is, “A day without a check-raise is like a day without sunshine.” Through poker, I have been given amazing travel opportunities: I’ve played poker in more than 15 foreign countries, visited more than 250 cardrooms, and sailed with Card Player Cruises on more than 90 incredible cruises. Even better than those travel opportunities, however, is that poker has introduced me to so many wonderful friends. You know who you are.

Now, let’s play poker!

Linda is a partner in Card Player Cruises and teaches for WPT Boot Camp. She is available to host seminars and corporate functions, and can be reached at [email protected].