Sarah Hale

by Sarah Hale

 In recent columns I’ve written about poker tips. Today I’d like to touch on the topics of collusion and soft play.

 Collusion and soft play are often overlooked at the most common poker games. How many times have you played against a group of friends or even just a group of regulars? If you can remember any of these situations, chances are you’ve run into soft play, if not outright collusion. You might even be guilty of it yourself.

by 'Oklahoma' Sarah Hale
 
 In my last column, I offered five tips for success when improving your poker game and playing for profit. Here are five more guidelines that are sure to make you a force to be reckoned with on the felt!

 6. Never play with scared money.

by "Oklahoma" Sarah Hale

In my opinion the greatest thing about hold’em is that there is no singularly correct way to play the game.

 One player may thrive as a “by the book” player while another may consistently win as a loose aggressive “donkey.” Recently, I’ve put a lot of thought in to what makes this game so popular over other forms of poker, such as Omaha, seven card stud or even the newly popular pineapple (Texas hold’em dealt three cards to each player and player chooses best two cards).

 I struggled to find reasons that could be stated beyond mere personal opinion, until I listened to an old favorite song of mine, “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers. From this song a very famous phrase came to fruition “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ‘em.”

Hi, I am Sarah Hale otherwise known in the poker world as Oklahoma Sarah with an "h." I like the letter "h" because the word "help" also starts with an "h" and that's what my dad's been doing with me and my poker game since I was just a little girl.

Hello, poker homies, it has been a great year for me. In the past year or so I have had the most amazing opportunities that a girl could ever hope for, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole USA.

I was born in Oklahoma and have loads of kinfolks back there. My father retired and my life with him and mom has been better than good.

I was not too happy when we would leave Oklahoma for a month or so and live in our Nevada home while dad played a little poker in the WSOP with Benny Binion and the boys.

Dad would take me for long walks and talk about everything in the world.

Thanks so much for joining me back here for the second article about poker etiquette. These are the remaining five of the top ten rules that novice players should be mindful of at the poker table.

Rule No. 6-Act in Turn. Poker is a game based on position. Poker should be played clockwise after the blinds. The game's basic premise is that position is paramount.

Acting out-of-turn provides other players at the table with an unfair advantage. Players are more likely to contemplate making a move when they know they have fewer opponents left to act behind them.

Hi, this is OK-Sarah. I've had a lot of long poker training sessions with my dad, OK-Johnny. Here's a sample of one of our talks! Dad started off with, "I will ask the questions. Most of them will be about poker and the playing of it. Then if you and your mother Carol will give me your answers, I may make a comment."

Question No. 1: What does a poker player mean when he says, "The pot odds were correct for me to call because there sure was a lot of meat on that bone"?

Thanks for coming back. I promised to tell you about the poker game at the world famous Venetian in Las Vegas.

When I arrive in the Venetian poker room, I put my name up on the $2-$5 and the $1-$2 nolimit hold'em waiting lists. Kathy Raymond tells me that she has a seat for me in a new $2-$5 no-limit hold'em game. I sit down and help start a new must-move game, buying in for $500.

Welcome to my world---the world of poker, glamour, fun, and excitement. Las Vegas is my home town-I know this town-I have lived here all of my life, and played poker in all its poker rooms. I cohosted "The Seniors" World Championship of Poker at the World Series of Poker with my dad, "Oklahoma" Johnny Hale.

I hosted my own poker tournament-the L.A.C.E.- at the Horseshoe in Tunica, I am the first lady to win a poker tournament at the Wynn in Las Vegas. I have sung in all of the Vegas karaoke night spots.