Versatility

Business is slow at a casino in San Diego during the summer. Who wants to be inside playing poker or whatever else when it’s 80 and sunny every day? The beach, Padres games, Del Mar Racetrack, and a myriad other things are calling everyone’s name, and most people respond in kind. Football season marks the return of the action to the poker rooms in the area and it can’t come soon enough. During football season, it’s rare to see less than three games of $5-$5 no-limit on a Sunday or Monday, and they’re almost always good games. Right now, you’re probably more likely to see a three-handed game than you are to see three full games.

A recent Thursday night was typical for the season. I was playing in a mediocre $5-$5 game, playing profitably, probably a game worth $30/hour or so, nothing too tough, but not a rockin’ and rollin’ game. In fact, as of late, I’ve been doing well in the games everyone else thinks are bad and languishing in the more clearly good games. Of course, there is certainly a large amount of variance in live no limit because of the slow pace, but I digress. A couple of tables over, they were playing an $8-$16 mixed game. Most likely it was hold ‘em and Omaha eight-or-better, but I’m not certain. That game broke and a short-handed $20-$40 mixed game started. I left my $5-$5 game to join in. We were playing H.E.R.O. (H.O.R.S.E. without stud hi only) and it was a stellar game. We were having fun, playing a little crazy, and an occasional adult beverage was consumed.

Soon, the game was full with a board, and it got even better. There was a 37 big bet pot in stud-eight-or-better that got scooped by someone that had never played the game before when he made a six-high straight (Even if you’ve never played stud-eight-or-better before, it’s pretty easy to recognize that a six-high straight is really good in that game). People were limping with king door cards in razz and all kinds of other fun stuff. Even I got in on the loose fun and played some hands that were perhaps losing money in a normal game but doing well in this game, especially when played against people that had rarely played before. All of the other $5-$5 grinders were stuck in those games, passing money around while I could join this game that had to be worth $100/hour. Once this game grows legs and the dealers get used to dealing it, there’s a chance it will be worth even more as they figure out the procedures and get better. Some of them had never dealt stud before, and those that had experience were out of practice from years of dormancy.

I could join this game because I pride myself on my versatility (Though I did make a big mistake by four-betting on sixth street in a heads up razz pot that I’d like to re-do). I’ve played and studied most conventional forms of poker and some that aren’t so conventional. I haven’t played some of the new stuff like Duck Flush or some of the A.R.G.E. games like Wonky Donkey or Binglaha, but I’m not too concerned with those right now. What I am concerned with is being able to get into a good game with players I want to play with because I am familiar with the games they are playing and feel I can be profitable in them. I don’t ever want to be stuck playing one game all the time, no matter what is going on around me.

Games have gotten tougher over the last several years as people soured on the game, couldn’t play online easily, lost money or just ran out of free time. Poker is a game of attrition and only those most suited to the game and those with lots of gamble survive through a rough patch like the one we’re in right now. Casinos can try whatever they might to get players through the door, and they do, but easy access to online poker was such a boon for the live poker industry. Now that the games are slowly fading away, it’s even more important to be a generalist in poker. Sure, you could spend an extra two hours a week making your no-limit game just that much sharper, but there is only so much incremental improvement you can do at some point. If you, instead, focus that extra two hours a week learning a new poker variant, you could find yourself able to take advantage of a juicy spot like the one I had recently. Instead of watching froms a distance while we play 35 big bet pots, you could embrace the diversity, show your versatility, and join in the fun. ♠

Gavin Griffin was the first poker player to capture a World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour title and has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NHGG