Should You Be a Fox or a Hedgehog?

As you read the title of this column, you probably thought the poor Bald Eagle had lost his senses along with his hair. The Greek poet Archilochus, in the seventh century B.C. distinguished between the fox and the hedgehog. He said, "The fox devises many strategies; the hedgehog knows only one, but he uses it very effectively." As a gambler, which should you strive to be? Should you try to learn lots of games or just one?

The advantage of being a hedgehog is very simple. You can become very good, perhaps even great, at your specialty. What could be wrong with that? Become an expert, not be afraid of any opponent, and win steadily. Why would you even consider learning a variety of games, especially if it is virtually impossible to play a variety of games as well as you can learn to play just one?

Imagine how much the five-card stud or draw experts make now. There are more than a few blackjack superstars who have been barred from every casino with limits higher than $5. If there is one tough stud game and an unbelievably weak Omaha eight-or-better game going on, a great seven-card stud hedgehog may barely cover the rake, while a fox who is barely competent in Omaha will clean up. Another somewhat subtle advantage of being a fox is that you may learn something in one game that enables you to improve in another one. I am herein listing games in which you might consider becoming a fox. They are in some rough order of their importance to a gambler.

Everyone should learn poker. If you spend much time in casinos, you must learn blackjack. It is also useful to learn gin and backgammon, and to become familiar with handicapping sports and horses. Chess, bridge, and scrabble probably won't produce much income unless you become a superstar, but they are enjoyable and good for maintaining mental acuity. Golf is clearly the best sport for a gambler to learn. Pool is a somewhat distant second.

Take backgammon as an example. I was at one time an expert, winning backgammon player. Are there any other top poker players who were at one time top backgammon players? (Notice how modestly I have classed myself as tops in only two games.) Here is an alphabetized list of poker stars who were previously backgammon stars: Gus Hansen, Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Phillip Marmorstein, Erik Seidel, and Dennis Waterman. Chip Reese and Stu Ungar were poker stars who later took up and excelled at backgammon.

What poker variations should you learn first? To some extent, that depends on where you are. In my opinion, everyone must learn limit hold'em first, since it is not only the most popular game, but also the fastest growing game. On the East Coast, stud is very popular and should be your second choice. In Europe and in the South, no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha should be your second choices. In Vegas and California, Omaha eight-or-better makes a reasonable second game to learn. Make sure you learn how to play both tournaments and live games. Eventually, you should feel comfortable playing limit, pot-limit, and no-limit games. You also should strive to learn all the popular games – hold'em, seven-card stud, Omaha high, Omaha eight-or-better, seven-card stud eight-or-better, draw, deuce-to-seven triple draw, lowball draw (both ace-to-five and deuce-to-seven), razz, and so on. Assuming you are extremely intelligent (you must be to be reading my column) and hardworking, you should be able to master all the games in approximately five lifetimes.