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A Chip, a Chair, and a Prayer! 

A Chip, a Chair, and a Prayer!
By Al Spath 

I could not imagine the intensity and the electricity felt throughout the casino as I strode into Binion’s to play in my first World Series of Poker. There was a buzz of excitement emanating from everywhere in the room. And in separate corners, like heavyweight prizefighters, stood the real giants and legends of the game. "Amarillo" Slim Preston, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson to name a few. All were holding court with a small number of friends and several wide-eyed admirers who got into the tournament during those ever-popular satellite games. Although the icons of poker were entrenched with introductions and all that "how ya been talk," they continued to have a watchful eye on the entire room. You could see their eyes scanning the room, sizing up competitors, and filing away tidbits of information on mannerisms, facial expressions and of course body language. An art most of us are learning and developing as we compete during each tournament or in a local ring game. Nothing like years of experience to detect the slightest tell, right Mike Caro? 

Waiting for all the pre-tournament hype and the chip distribution to conclude was painstakenly slow and time consuming. I keep mumbling to myself that if I don’t see a flop pretty soon, I’m just going to explode from anticipation and nervousness. You see, to us newcomers, the thrill of being there is like the first time having sex. It’s quick, it’s often painful, and then it’s over! Then for years to follow we talk about how great it was and by the time we’re 30, our recollection of this event is conclusive proof of how manly we really were, even at our first attempt. 

Getting back to the tables and the first shuffle and deal. The noise level in the room grew with every breath we took, and when the official word came to start dealing the room fell silent as competitors slid into character, poker face on, sunglasses positioned just right, and head sets attached to one or both ears. I was shocked to see two former WSOP champions at my table and the bracelets they were wearing were certainly intimidating pieces of hardware. Where are my sunglasses? 

I’ve got my chips, I’m in my chair and I’ve said a last prayer for luck; so deal the stinkin’ cards! Round the table the cards slid so effortlessly across the newly laid felt tabletop. A King of clubs then a Queen of hearts, good cards for the first tournament hand when most players play somewhat tight and are often busy sizing up the rest of the table. Being in the small blind I begin to process information and quickly looking for tells. Do I raise when it comes around to me, or act tight and set a small trap. I’ll be first to act after the flop no matter what, so do I want to advertise? Three limpers later the decision is mine and I must not hesitate with my action. Bam, I raise the pot $400 and get two callers from seat 5 (lets call him Rowdy) and seat 7 (lets call him Elton, being he has a British twang). Now being in the small blind I’ve put the burden on myself to lead at the pot or show weakness. What would the flop bring, and how would I proceed? The flop comes, Qc, 6h, 2s rainbow and I bet $800. Seat 5 folds what had to be a drawing hand, and seat 7 smooth calls. The turn is Jc and seems like no help to either of us and I bet $1400. Seat 7 again just calls and I look for something like a 7 on the river, preferably not a club, and definitely not a card that pairs the board. It’s unbelievably a 7 of hearts, as I breathe a bit easier and bet $2,500. Without hesitation, Elton comes over me with an all-in raise on the very first hand I have entered. Holy mackerel, I slump conspicuously back in my chair and examine my hand again. Did I miss calculate my opponents hand. Wouldn’t he have raised with AA, KK, or QQ, from seat 7 with those type cards? I certainly would. Or did he have AQ and I’m out kicked. Oh crap, there goes my theory on demonstrating beginning tournament savvy and taking down an early pot. I started to push all my chips and call his bet when my hand started shaking and I suddenly pulled back both my thoughts and the bet. I promptly folded what I thought was a sure winner. 

Normally, opponents don’t show cards when they don’t have to, but Elton wanted the entire table to see his A2 of clubs and flashed his hand. I had thrown away the winner, exposed myself to the entire table as to what type of player I was, and also let Elton plant a seed for his opponents to fear or try to conquer. Worse than anything, I was on tilt, and it wasn’t five minutes into the tournament. 

Just as I posted the big blind I heard loud music and rose to see what the hell was going on! To my amazement and relief it was just my alarm clock and the beginning of another workday. I was quite relieved learning it was only a dream, but damn, it seemed so real. Here I thought my entry into the 2001 WSOP had been secured by winning an on-line sweepstakes from Poker Pages. No chance, I was only playing cards several times a week and continuing to bet hands from a deep sleep. Maybe it was the excitement that this time of year brings with the big tournament, or maybe I too have let the magical, addicting potion of poker capture my soul. 

My wife has always said, "Over doing alcohol is a bad habit but is easy to detect, however with poker players, you can’t even smell the cards on their breath!" 

Oh Floorman!

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 NL Holdem Lesson #2:

Correct Size Bets

In lesson #1 we began talking about "betting sizes," and I want to also turn our attention to tournament play. As I mentioned in the first lesson, proper betting is the number one flaw in most players’ games today. As in NL games, players make betting mistakes in pot-limit and limit poker as well, but for this lesson, we will concentrate on no-limit tournament betting.

So what is the most common betting mistake made at the tables anyway? How about UNDER BETTING the pot. This is a definite sign of weakness and demonstrates a player’s inability to utilize "betting" a proper amount in hopes of setting up potential bluffs, steals, or to attain proper value in a hand. The central theme of no-limit poker is to "pressure" your opponents, putting the guesswork on them. Here’s an example: A pot containing $1,000 is checked to a late position player on the river, and he/she bets $100. What’s wrong with this message sent by the bettor? Why would anyone bet such a small amount? Do they assume this minimal bet is going to drive most of the players out of the pot, or is it going to invite someone who has checked with a strong, or semi-strong hand to make a play at the pot? I think the latter, putting the pressure back on the original bettor, and I must say, that this "betting" mistake is made more often than any other mistake.

Let’s look at the same situation (this time just after the flop), for another examination of the correct way to bet the hand. What should a person in late position holding a decent hand (or trying to steal the pot) bet, when the pot is laying $1000? How about "betting the pot." This will in most cases be enough to end the draws and eliminate the weaker hands by those who have checked. You know, the ones who are only willing to pay a minimal amount to see "another card" that might just make their hand after the flop. The $1,000 bet pressures all remaining players to consider pot odds, which are very unfavorable to them at this stage facing this size bet. They will also be forced to consider the possibility that their hand may not be strong enough to beat you with or without help on the turn and/or river.

By betting the pot, another benefit to the bettor/raiser (aside from garnering information and eliminating drawing hands), is that it also sets up the possibility to steal in later rounds and at the same time it adding value to the pot. What do you do when you find yourself with the nuts at the end, and again the hand is checked to you? Do you bet a minimal amount hoping that you will get a caller or a raise? Or do you again bet an amount that "may," indicate you could possibly be stealing the pot and thereby induce a call or two from your opponents? I guess the question you need to ask yourself is; wouldn’t it be better to bet $1,000 and get one caller, than to bet $100 and get two callers? And then there are times when you can get your (unskilled) opponent to attempt a steal from you? Wouldn’t you prefer they raise your $1000 bet and not just raise a $100 bet? Don’t waste your time on betting small amounts to elicit callers or raisers. If you want to make a bet of 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the very large pot, I find no fault in doing so on occasion, to mix up your play and still extract value from the hand, but never bet the minimum amount into any pot if you expect to have a reasonable chance of winning without holding the top hand. Remember, betting the proper amount puts the pressure on your opponent; they must ask themselves; do you have something or are you bluffing?

Let’s now get back to "opening bets," as they relate to what the initial round of betting creates. If there are a lot of limpers allowed into a pot, you can generalize and say that the winning hands will be "much stronger" than when the pot is played with fewer players. That is why your big pairs will more often hold up when you raise and eliminate most of the field, instead of being "caught" on the turn or river by a drawing hand that was mistakenly allowed to remain in the hand and see cards "cheaply." Referring back to lesson 1, you are reminded to raise pre-flop with strong hands the proper amount (X times the posted big blind amount), to reduce the field and strengthen your position to win the pot. It is a mistake to limp in with premium cards and allow others with speculative cards to continue in the hand without paying a price to proceed.

Here’s one more example of how to bet a hand properly, and this time from out of a "blind position" at the table. Let assume you have T6os in the big blind and see the flop with four other callers, for nothing more than your tournament posted big blind amount of $50. There is $275 in the pot (small blind folded), and the flop comes 3T6 rainbow. What should you do in this situation? If you said check, you would be wrong, if you said bet the minimum, you would be wrong, and if you said bet about $100, you still would be wrong. If you don’t bet the pot, $275, or over bet the pot, you might as well announce to everyone that you should be taken lightly, pushed around, or drawn out on. You must protect your flopped two pair and make it expensive for anyone with a single top pair, or anyone foolish enough to chase a gut-shot straight, or three-flush to continue. Note: When I say protect your hand; this is not a DEFENSIVE measure, but rather an OFFENSIVE maneuver that you must incorporate into your game. Bet enough to take down the pot or eliminate most of the players in the hand. You stand a greater chance of having your two-pair hold up and to take down your opponents the majority of time using this betting strategy. Allowing your opponents to bet a lesser amount allows them to continue in the hand and quite possibly win all the chips in a pot you built. You just cannot permit this to happen if you expect to become a winning NL player.

In lesson #3, I will be discussing additional holdings and making feeler bets. 

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