More Cash Game Stuff, Phil and Jennifer

So over the last few blogs I have covered several topics relating to general cash game play. Now I will walk you through some of the specifics I think about. The first thing I do is to size up the other players. Usually I know some, if not most of the players in a cash game, but there are usually a couple I don't know or just plain don't remember. If there is somebody in the game that will give me good information and I trust, I will ask them for any info they have on the unsubs, or unknown subjects. I think of them as subjects because I study them very carefully. What do they look like when not playing a hand and when involved in a big hand strong versus weak? For the regulars in the game, I ask myself, how they are playing. Have they just lost a big hand or two and not laying their A game? Not everyone goes on tilt, but everyone has days when they are in the zone and days when they are a step behind. I also look at the current situations people are in, for instance; is someone getting a massage, eating, or otherwise distracted and only playing premium hands? Beware of that player because they may have a monster. Is there a loose player or calling station at the table that is worth playing pots against because you can snap him off if you hit a suited one gaper, and they hit top pair, top kicker and will pay you off. I also like to avoid any players that seem to be hot or give me trouble. Quite frankly, there is no one I really fear in the level of games I play, but there are still a handful of players that when I play a pot against them I am cautious. I also try to avoid any marginal situations with players like that. Often times I have seen relatively inexperienced players try and outplay me when I have a hand and it always amazes me that they have no idea where they are in the hand. If I have a medium strength hand against a player like Kenny Tran, and I am not sure where he is, I avoid that like the plague, and pick my spots carefully. Why put yourself in a position with someone who is that dangerous, unless you are reasonably sure you have him. I still remember his call against me in the main event of last year's WSOP when I emptied the clip and he kept calling with very little, and then proclaimed himself a genius.

I read an interesting article in this month's Card Player, by Phil Hellmuth, who described a hand that Jennifer Harmon played against Eli Elezra on Poker After Dark, where on the river she knew she was beat and called anyway. Phil complimented her on her play because she was getting 4:1 on her river call, but I have to disagree. Let me first say I think Jennifer is a phenomenal player that when I'm at a table with I play very carefully, trying not to get into bad situations with, but come on, if you know you're beat, why call? It was sort of an interesting hand where Eli raised from the button in an unopened pot with 5 2 and Jennifer called from the big blind with A 4. Then Jennifer calls the flop bet after Eli flops 2 pair and she gets "lucky" on the turn hitting her ace. Anyway the point is she could have folded to his pre-flop raise, or his flop bet, and walked away relatively unharmed but she called each time including the turn and river, losing the maximum. After writing this I asked several cash game players that I respect about calling on the river when you are pretty sure you are beat and that little voice inside your head say's "fold fold fold." Everyone said that they try to lay those down but when they do call, they almost always lose. It's not like being in a limit game where you are getting 12:1 on that river call. I strongly believe that when you learn to fold those hands, is when your game can move to the next level. If you have feedback or questions about this, or any other blog, feel free to email me [email protected].

The Oracle

http://www.cardplayer.com/players/results/Roy-Winston/36778