I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now: A Decade As A Pro, Part I

Eleven months and twenty thousand words ago, I embarked on this series trying to capture everything I’ve learned about poker in the past decade of doing it for a living. Poker is such a rich game that I am somewhat shocked that I cannot come up with more content for this series, but then again I did write about every aspect of the game that I could think of. For those who are fans of Cliff and his notes, this is my summary of 20,000 words in two columns.

I wrote about bankroll first because whether amateur or professional it is most important. You know that you are playing within your bankroll when you don’t care about losing from a financial perspective. A professional retains job security with a bankroll. You are capable of losing your job but nobody can fire you. After bankroll, balance between life and poker is paramount. You can’t just play poker only without going crazy, and as a professional you can’t just goof off and not play poker. If you’re an amateur, poker should be like any other hobby you enjoy, something that is fun. As a professional, we play poker for the same reasons that people have jobs — for money and a multitude of other reasons. If there is not balance, then both poker and life will suffer.

Once finances and life are balanced, we can start focusing on the game and maximizing profit. Game selection becomes our next priority, and we should strive to put ourselves in the best opportunity to succeed by evaluating how good we are at a particular game, the stakes of that game in context of bankroll, and the lineup in the game. I’ve played more hands of hold’em than anything else, but the same is true for most players. Although my best game, my edge over most other players is not that big. A newer game like badeucey, while I’m not as good at that game, my opponents are often way worse.
Then consider stakes, hands per hour, quality of the fish in the game, and always try and land in the seat that has the highest hourly rate available.

Often one game in the room is better than all the others, and often that game is not hold’em, and unless you know how to play other games then you will not be able to sit in that game. Learning the full spectrum of the disciplines in poker is the next step in becoming a complete poker player.

When I turned pro a decade ago, no-limit hold’em was rarerly offered. There were still $10,000 World Poker Tour events that were played as limit hold’em. I had to learn no-limit and had a tough time doing so. Most people now are the opposite, and have a tough time picking up limit hold’em. It is usually never correct to open limp or cold call a raise preflop. It’s usually good if our opponents fold. Implied odds are not important, pot odds, value from the best hand, and saving bets with the worst hand are vital.

Omaha-eight-or-better is similar in format to limit hold’em and a common transition game for players. This is where people explore split-pot concepts for the first time. Playing for a scoop is extremely important. Avoiding spots where we end up playing for half of a pot versus one opponent is huge. Bluffing is harder and should usually be avoided because Omaha-eight hands go to showdown very often.

Stud games are my favorite, but are difficult to find. With more information out there for players to take in, more opportunities for mistakes and a greater skill gap exists. It all started with stud, similar to limit hold’em in strategy, but different in betting structure. In hold’em it usually costs 1.5 big bets to see the first six cards, then another two to get to showdown. Stud charges one big bet for the first five, then three more to get to showdown. This makes preflop hand strength extra important in flop games, minimizes implied odds, and forces showdown more often. Stud games will see more hands go to fifth street and then end when things get expensive. It’s more important to have the best hand on fifth street in stud than it is on third, when the cards are dealt, because of the betting structure and when most of the money goes into the pot.

Razz is the opposite of stud in showdown value, with the worst hand winning the pot rather than the best hand. Even though the true format of this game should be played with Kansas City rules, making 2-3-4-5-7 without a flush the best hand (because there is no worse five-card poker hand), common rules seek five low cards regardless of straights or flushes, with A-2-3-4-5 being the nuts. Razz is a board driven game, is very simple at its root, and somehow brings the donkey out of many poker players.

Stud-eight-or-better and its older and mostly forgotten cousin stud-high-low regular blend split-pot concepts learned in Omaha-eight with the stud poker format. Play for scoops, if you can’t and can only play for half, make sure there are other people in the pot so you’re not just winning half the antes as a reward for risking half the pot. Split jacks in Stud-eight are often unplayable. Rolled-up jacks in high-low regular should never put in a raise and rarely bet since the best low hand it can make is jack-low, a very tough hand to win that half of the pot with.

Draw games are fun and theoretical since information is concealed and inferences must be made by cards drawn and betting patterns. Position is extra important. Both deuce-to-seven triple draw and badugi play similar to limit hold’em. Badeucey and badacey blend deuce-to-seven with split pot concepts.

Next issue I’ll wrap up my series, reviewing tournament poker, life in the poker world, and everything else that comes after the triad of poker fundamentals: bankroll management, life balance, and game selection. ♠

Bryan Devonshire has been a professional poker player for nearly a decade. With over $2m in tournament earnings, he also plays high stakes mixed games against the best players in the world. Follow him on Twitter @devopoker.