Mike Caro

One word that's widely misunderstood is "probability." Most people, including poker players, don't fully understand how it works at the tables and beyond. They fail to grasp its importance. I'll talk about that in this self-interview.

Question 1: What things does probability affect?

Probability affects everything. In fact, it governs everything. The likelihood of anything happening can be precisely and confidently stated, provided there is enough information to perform the calculation. Often there isn't.

I teach that, if you're going to make poker a lifetime winning pursuit, you shouldn't expect it to be like skipping through a flower garden. Unless you change your mindset, you'll have moments or grandeur, tarnished with deep disappointment - the word that serves as the topic for today's self-interview.

Question 1: Do most pro players encounter more triumphs than disappointments?

Why would I devote a column to the word "drinking?" Maybe it's because that's what I'm doing right now as I begin to celebrate New Year's Eve deep into the afternoon. As usual, I'm late submitting my column, so I'll have to compose this tonight in short sit-downs, between sips and gulps of wine, champagne, eggnog with rum, and beer. If that works for you, fine; if not, well, happy New Year!

I don't like to talk much about patience, because I tend to fidget when I'm bored. Nevertheless, patience can be important in poker, just as Uncle George probably told you. And today's self-interview deals with that, possibly in ways you're not expecting. Here's the first question...

Question 1: Is patience the most important discipline needed to win at poker?

For eight years, I haven't talked much about cheating at poker. Unfortunately, today's word "cheat" came up at random from a pool of candidates whose size can be calculated by 16,384 times the reciprocal of 2 to the 14th power. Here's a self-interview, in which I get to ask my own questions and respond however I like.

Question 1: How come you haven't talked much about cheating publicly in recent years?

Poker players have opinions about rules, tactics, opponents, and more. Sometimes they let you know what they think and sometimes they don't. I'm going to share some of my opinions with you today as this series of self-interviews continues.

Question 1: Everyone is entitled to an opinion, right?

The essential soul of poker is deception. If you play with anything else in mind, you'll fail. Let's deal with that concept today, as we continue this series of self-interviews. Today's word is "Trick," and, although I don't know what questions to expect from myself, I'll try to keep us on topic. Here's the first one...

Question 1: Can't you just play cards without bothering to deceive your opponents?

What should you think about in a poker game? Can thinking be dangerous? Are some decisions instinctive? In this edition of my series of self-interviews, we visit the word "Think" and learn how it relates to profit. First question, please.

Question 1: Does everyone spend the same amount of time thinking?

Last time, as we continued this series of self interviews, the word was "Something." It meant there would be no focus to the questions I asked myself-they just needed to be about something related to poker. Well, I liked the way that interview went, so I decided I wanted more of it. And that's why today's word is "More."

Question 1: Do you think it's necessary to advertise at poker?

In this edition of my series of self-interviews, the key word is "something." This means that I get to ask myself something that flitters into my mind, and whatever that happens to be, I promise to answer.

Question 1: What's the most important improvement you've made to your poker game since you were just a kid starting out?