Empty Chairs and One-Eyed Kings

Probably the biggest single mistake I see poker players make is sitting down in a game that's too tough for them. There's an old poker joke about the definition of poker players' paradise: nine white shirts and an empty chair. The point, of course, is that if you're looking for a game you can beat, find one full of dealers. It just so happens that I know lots of dealers who can play, but the idea that the road to happiness is finding a game you can beat is a correct one. Here's another poker saying on this topic: The 10th-best player in the world is going broke at a table with the other nine.

When I was 16 years old back home in Washington state, I played at a local cardroom in a $2 lowball game. As a rank apprentice in lowball, my strategy was accounted for in a simple rhyme: Roses are red, violets are blue, don't draw to eights, and don't draw two. With that set strategy in my mind, I broke pat eights and drew, which was definitely not a correct tactic. Against any knowledgeable opponents, I'd have been giving up big edge. But, I played against players who almost always took two, and sometimes even more, and the little rhyme defined a winning lowball system. My play sucked, but my strategy beat these players, because their play sucked much worse.

Most people learn to play poker in home games, at the kitchen table. Basic strategy tends to be betting and calling until somebody shows down a winner. In some such games, check-raising is considered impolite, and everybody has a few brewskis. The guy who passes up the beer and figures out that folding and raising are part of the game is the guy who tends to take home all the money.

However, to conquer higher limits and tougher players, you need to take your game to a much higher level. Knowledge and application of strategies will be highly consequential. But, to get your game to a professional level, you will need to be able to ascertain the correct situations in which to apply those strategies. To do that, you will need to be able to determine with reasonable accuracy a range of possible holdings for your opponent(s).

If, as a novice player, you develop basic hand-reading skills, you will improve your game beyond that of your competition. In order to achieve that, though, you first and foremost must develop focus and concentration in order to ascertain what is going on around you. From there, you can develop a "feel" for what is transpiring in the game you are in. A large part of acquiring that "feel" is asking the right questions, after which you need to draw accurate conclusions.

Some good questions to ask yourself are: What are my opponent's betting patterns? How does he play draws? Does he play straightforwardly or will he slow-play? What plays is he capable of making? Is he aggressive? Will he check-call me down with weak hands? Will he automatically bet the flop if he is the preflop raiser? Does he defend his blinds? Does he vary his play based on his opponent? Does he vary his play at all? What is his mood? Knowing your prospective opponents is the key to game selection.

Understanding a player's knowledge and skill level goes a long way toward determining whether you want to play in his game. By understanding his play knowledge, you can determine what he would do in given situations based on that knowledge level. You obtain the ability to make discerning decisions about game selection from observation.

The most important decision in poker is whether or not to sit down in a game. You should only pick games in which you are getting more edge from the field than you are giving up to the field. As long as you play reasonably well, you won't be giving up too much to any given player. Many players tend to focus too much on the better players, not realizing that most of their edge comes from the worst players.

While handicapping the opposition is important, the heart of this decision lies in handicapping yourself. There's another poker saying: If you look around the table and can't figure out who the sucker is, you're it. You need to know where you stand in relation to your opponents.

Poker is a game in which egos run rampant. Most people tend to give themselves more credit than they deserve. We also tend to find in our own favor when comparing ourselves to others. I have written before about the study that found that 95 percent of all American males consider themselves to be above-average drivers. The same tends to be true of poker players. More than 100 people in my career have told me they are the best poker player in the world. For some strange reason, none of the people I believe can justifiably lay claim to that title are ever the ones spouting it.

The point is, you have to be honest with yourself about where you stand in the poker world. Far too many players keep progressing in limits until they find the one they can't beat, and then stay there until they go broke. They refuse to accept that their competition is outplaying them. To choose the right game, you must accept truths about your own level of ability, and realize that there are people out there who play better than you do.

Beware of situations in which people come and tell you how great the game they are playing in is, and that there just happens to be an empty seat in it. Chances are, they're not inviting you to join the game because they think you're a great conversationalist. They want you in their game because they think you'll make the game even better.

I have written many times that my preferred game type is loose-passive. I like having the option of being able to get in cheaply and see if I can hit a flop and gain positive expectation post-flop. I like being called by people holding vastly inferior hands and drawing when the price to draw is not there for them. I like not having to make difficult decisions when confronted with many unknowns and multiple betting situations.

Other people find they play better in fast, aggressive games, in which there's big volume and lots of moves being made. Some people find their edge is greatest in high-low games. Others prefer stud games, in which memory skills are important. In most games, people call when they should fold, but in other games, people fold when they should call. Which type of game is better for you will depend very much on your own playing style (although great players can adjust to all game types and playing styles). Finding the right game and the right limit for yourself is the key to your performance as a poker player. Most important of all is finding the right field of opponents.

Some not-so-famous dead guy once said, "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." And so it is with poker players. If you can see what your opponents can't, you're gonna whomp on 'em just like I did back in that $2 lowball game. Even if your own poker game is not on a professional level, pick your game with care and you'll be the one-eyed king in the land of the blind.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com.