You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

An opponent with whom I had never played before bought into my $30-$60 limit hold’em game at Bellagio for three dimes [$3,000]. I like to take control of new players’ impressions of me early in their sessions — especially new players with a bunch of money in play. First impressions tend to stick in people’s minds and override subsequent data.

During his first lap, I raised with the 9 8 from early position. It is the kind of hand with which I like to make deception plays. If I hit my hand, my opponents will not read me for having it, and if I miss and big cards come, I have represented a big-card starting hand and can move on the pot with an increased likelihood that my opponents will fold.

The new guy called my raise, as did the button and one of the blinds. We took the flop off four-handed. It came A Q 6, giving me a flush draw. I led out.

Mr. New Guy raised me, folding the other two players. Thinking my opponent held a real hand, and being out of position, I flat-called the raise.

The turn card was the 7, adding an open-end straight draw to my flush draw. I wondered if my opponent might fold to action, adding fold equity to my holding. I knew little about him, other than he waited until after the blinds to post, bought in big, and handled his chips and cards well. I didn’t think he would fold to a single bet unless he was on a stone-cold bluff, and I didn’t read him for that. But I thought that he might fold to a check-raise, not wanting to pay off with one pair on a strong board. With a fair-sized pot and 15 outs if I was called, I didn’t need him to fold very often to make the check-raise a positive-equity play. I check-raised. He thought for a while, and called. Now, I felt that I had to hit to win.

The 5 came on the river, completing my straight. I fired a wager, and he called. When I showed my hand, Mr. New Guy gave me a dirty look and shook his head, as if to say, “You check-raised the turn with a draw? You’re an idiot.” I knew that my play and the results had affected him emotionally. Part of the value of making such plays is the impression that it makes on your opponents. You must take into account how this will affect future play, and adjust accordingly.

During the following lap, I picked up the Q 10 in middle position, raised to open, and was three-bet by Mr. New Guy. I called, and we took the flop heads up. I flopped a flush draw when it came 8 4 3. But this time, I felt the hand would play differently, as I was reading my opponent for thinking I was a player who likes to bluff. This significantly reduced the value of semibluffing my draw. I thought Mr. New Guy, still irked at the results of our previous encounter, was highly likely to pay me off with as little as ace high. I checked the flop with the intent of flat-calling. To my surprise, he checked behind me.
The turn card was the 2, making any hand with an ace in it an overcard gutshot holding. I checked again. Once again, he checked behind me.

The river brought the 4. Feeling I was likely to be up against an ace and would get called if I bet, I checked a third time. He checked behind me, and I turned over my hand. He turned over the K 10 and took the pot.

Damn, I thought. I likely would have been able to buy the pot, and I hate to miss bluffing opportunities. But in reviewing my thinking, I felt that my analysis was sound, even though I did not include the possibility that he was checking a weak hand because he didn’t want to get check-raised off it. I still think my opponent would have called me with any ace, which was a very likely holding in his potential hand range.

You must adjust your play based on your opponents. I analyze how my opponent thinks by trying to view the hand from his knowledge level and from the information available to him. Past events often dictate how I should play in the current situation, because of how they affect my opponents’ mindsets. You make the best decision you can, pull the trigger on the play, and let the cards fall where they may. And when you’re in error, you just learn from the situation and play the next hand.

Once the new guy figured out that I was highly aggressive, he adjusted his play against me — and I adjusted to his adjustment. Decisions in poker involve taking into account the styles of the people you are playing as much as or more than the cards you are holding. Your opponents’ emotions are a huge part of the equation. Knowing when an opponent’s button has been pushed and how it will affect his play, and effectively adjusting your play to his changes, pays great dividends in obtaining equity.

Longtime poker pro and author Roy Cooke’s Card Player column has appeared since 1992. A successful Las Vegas real estate broker since 1990, his website is www.roycooke.com. Should you wish to inquire regarding real-estate matters — including purchase, sale, or mortgage — his phone number is (702) 396-6575. Roy’s longtime collaborator John Bond’s website is www.johnbondwriting.com.