Mike Caro

Well, I had another break-even week at poker. And I mean exactly break even, because I’m enjoying my hermitage deep in the Ozarks without poker. No wins. No losses. No games.
 
However, I’m about to fly to the Dominican Republic in a few days on business and will be investigating the public poker scene there. Yes, there is poker in the DR! It reminds me just how off-track those who want to banish poker in the United States are, with our game’s popularity thriving worldwide.
 

There’s a fear that runs through poker. It’s the fear of going to the well once too often – succeeding too many times with the same play. Because of this fear, many players adjust needlessly, throwing away a lot of potential profit in the process. That’s what I’m going to talk about in today’s self-interview. We’ll learn that if something is working (today’s word), it’s often a mistake to shift gears. But there are exceptions.
 

During the past two weeks, I’ve delivered seminars at a World Poker Tour Boot Camp in Las Vegas and at sea during a Poker Player cruise.

In going over the tips and concepts presented, I tried to identify some tips that players might have problems understanding.

In this self-interview, I’ll talk about winning advice that is frequently ignored, forgotten, or poorly implemented. Ready, set, go…

While looking over and thinking about questions I’ve been asked about hold’em, I’m seeing a huge omission. Almost none of these questions have been specifically about how to play the turn. (In case you’re just getting started with hold’em, the “turn” is the name we give to the fourth face-up board card. The three-card “flop” precedes it and it is followed by the final “river” card.)
 

If a stable, predictable personal history is important to you, don’t choose poker as a profession. I’m in the mood to reflect on a couple of my life adventures.
 
Admittedly, my life fascinates me more than you. So, if this isn’t your cup of tea, well, I’ll see you next time and have a nice day. Here’s today’s self-interview.
 
Question 1: Can you remember the first time you took poker seriously?
 

Some players lose because they enjoy playing poorly. And that’s fine with me. For many of us, poker is a serious struggle to win. We depend on the money. But others approach poker quite differently. They may know they’re going against the odds with inferior skills, but the adventure is fun. They have other sources of income, and money they lose is a recreational expense. Without these players, we wouldn’t win.

Expectation matters in poker. If you’re just guessing, you probably have a poor understanding of what should happen. That often causes confusion, frustration, and the destruction of bankrolls. I’ve seen it happen too many times.
Today’s word is “Expectation,” and this is my self-interview about it.
 

This is about poker, but first I’m going to make psychologists mad again. I don’t like the profession. Don’t misunderstand that statement. I’m intrigued by psychology and believe it should be one of the great branches of science.
 
Unfortunately, it isn’t. Psychology is all about people—their moods, their beliefs, and their reactions. (Okay, there’s psychology for animals, too, but this isn’t about that.) Psychologists should separate their feelings, opinions, and biases from their observations. But, if you’ve read any contemporary books by popular psychologists or seen their television appearances, you realize that many of them are governed by their own emotions.
 

Let me ask you something. What if you were so disciplined in poker that you stuck to your primary strategy, no matter what?

We’ve just added the updated Michael Wiesenberg's MCU Official Dictionary of Poker exclusively to my new Poker1.com web site. You’ll probably want to bookmark it, because it’s the most compelling reference of its kind.