Mind Over Poker - A Lesson From Rush Poker

Recently, I’ve been playing a bit of Rush Poker on Full Tilt, and the experience has caused me to take a fresh look at a particular aspect of my play that had been on autopilot recently. I had become accustomed in deep-stack play (both cash games and tournaments) to playing small pairs as a matter of course for a raise of three times the big blind preflop. I had accepted that my implied odds justified this play over the long term. However, I found that I was rarely getting paid off in a big way when I hit a set in Rush Poker. Play tends to be much tighter when players know that a new hand is dealt as soon as they fold.

Let’s first look at the odds of hitting a set on the flop:

1. On the first card of the flop, 48 cards are bad for you out of the 50 unseen cards.
2. On the second card, 47 out of 49 cards are bad for you.
3. On the third card, 46 out of 48 are bad for you.

The equation, then, is: 1 – [(48÷50)(47÷49)(46÷48)] = 11.75%, which, translated into odds, is about 7.5-1.

So, let’s say that I’m on the button in a $1-$2 no-limit hold’em cash game, and there is a $6 bet in front of me. If I call the $6, I need to make sure that I can win at least 7.5 x $6, or $45. With $15 in the pot after my call, I’ll need my opponent to commit at least $30 after the flop if I hit my set. In many loose brick-and-mortar casino cash games, that’s a fairly good bet. In Rush Poker, I’ve found that it isn’t. (Please note that for the purposes of this column, I am not factoring in the times that I can win the hand without hitting a set.)

Poker is a game of constant adjustment, and you always have to adjust to your audience. It’s been fairly easy for me to recognize the differences in play on Rush Poker from more traditional forms. The ability to quick-fold and be on to the next hand in a nanosecond causes players to play more straightforwardly.

The real lesson for me, though, is that the adjustments needed to play winning poker are often much more subtle. In the early stages of a tournament, it may be fairly difficult to ascertain if my opponent will pay me off if I hit a set. I can’t play on autopilot. I have to constantly think, probe, react, and act. Implied odds are a tricky thing. They are only one piece of the equation. Knowing your opponents and the likelihood of getting paid takes experience and observation. ♠

David Apostolico is the author of several poker-strategy books, including Tournament Poker and The Art of War, and Compete, Play, Win: Finding Your Best Competitive Self. You can contact him at [email protected].