Individuals' motivations for playing poker vary. Some play to earn a living, some for enjoyment, and others play to fuel their competitive juices. Understanding the reasons why your opponents are at the table is vital in getting the best of it.
A few weeks ago in Las Vegas I witnessed a player who I believe was trying to lose. Not an individual like Mrs. Goldman, who tries to win but is hopelessly lost at a poker table, rather someone who thinks he wants to win but whose actions are the diametric opposite.
Playing in a $2-$5 blinds no-limit hold 'em game with a $100 minimum buy-in and a $500 maximum buy-in, John bought in for the minimum in a new game. Although effective short-stack strategies do exist, what follows is something that readers should not attempt to duplicate.
On his first hand John was second to act and limped. Two other players also limped to Aaron in the cutoff. He raised to $40. The blinds folded and John called. The two other limpers folded.
The flop was KH-QD-JD. John checked, Aaron bet $45 and John called. The AD fell on the turn, and John checked again. Aaron bet $65 and John folded. Aaron showed AH-QH and John said he had pocket sevens.
John limped from under-the-gun on the next hand. Six more players, including both blinds and me on the button, also saw the flop for $5. The flop was 8C-4S-2D. Both blinds checked, John moved all-in for $10. Only Michelle in middle position and I called. The turn was the KH. Michelle bet $25 and I called. The river was the 7H. Michelle again bet $25; I raised to $75 and Michelle agonized for a few moments, and then folded. My 6H-5H won the side pot with an eight-high straight and beat out John's pocket eights for the main pot. John then re-bought for another $100 and made one final $100 re-buy.
Consider how John played these two hands. Assuming he held sevens on the first hand his initial limp isn't unreasonable. The main value from small pairs comes from flopping a set. But when the betting returns to him and it will cost another $35 to call, it's time to throw the sevens into the muck. Unless John was certain there would be several callers, and that's very unlikely given that this was the first hand of a new game, his hand just can't be played from out of position.
John had another chance to get away from his hand on the flop. With three overcards and a potential flush draw, John is unlikely to be ahead and probably has just two outs. John is only ahead of a weak ace, a small pocket pair, or a total bluff-all very unlikely holdings, given that this is the first hand of a new game. Still, let's say that John thinks he should call. Since he will have only $15 left after making the call, if a call is correct, John should move all-in for the extra $15. There's no point in saving his last $15 for the river. Since John was going to re-buy he should have re-bought before the second hand. Consider the flop betting if John had made a pot-sized bet or moved all in; it's probable John would have won the hand on the turn if he moved all-in).
I'm convinced that John subconsciously expected to lose. And I know that if you expect to lose, you can always find a way to do so.
Russell Fox is the co-author of "Mastering No-Limit Hold'em," "Why You Lose at Poker," and "Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold'em." He's a federally licensed tax preparer specializing in gambling, with a blog at taxabletalk.com. E-mail Russ at rcfox@claytontax.com
