Exceptions

Certain general poker truisms have become like gospel for many players. Here are six.

1. Don't play at stakes you can't afford.
2. Don't drink alcohol while you play.
3. Play tightly in a loose game and loosely in a tight game.
4. Don't draw to an inside straight.
5. Bluff more in a shorthanded game.
6. Don't play when tired.

In my experience, however, there are exceptions to these rules that can be the source of considerable profit. Let me address each of them in turn.

1. Don't play at stakes you can't afford. This is usually a good rule. You don't want to play with "scared money". If you are afraid of the stakes, for the most part, you won't be able to compete at the same level as the others in the game missing some opportunities to maximize your advantage while at the same time being too inclined to fold to betting pressure even when you may have the best of it.

That being said, you need to realize that you can take a brief stab at a game that is a higher than your regular game even if you are on a short bankroll. Let's say, for example, that you only have a poker bankroll of $1,000, earned by playing $.50/1.00 and $1/2 on line. Your friends and on line poker buddies have all told you the conventional math that says you need to have 600 times the large blind to sit down in a game. You've believed them and had planned to wait until you had $6,000 or so before making the move up to $5/10 Even so, you join your poker buds on a trip to a nearby poker room where they play. You're watching a game and notice that the players are awful. The game seems to be really passive and really loose. Five players typically call the $2.00 bring in. It's rare for someone to complete the bet to $5.00. There's usually some betting on all of the streets, but there's also a lot of checking and calling.

All you have is that $1,000 you brought along "just in case". True, you have a regular job, but you don't make much money beyond your expenses - maybe only $50 a week for entertainment. Still, you'd like to play and this game looks juicy. Do you forego the game in the interest of strict financial discipline?

No, this is an exception to that rule. This is a great game where you have a shot at winning. Take the shot. Set yourself a loss limit of $300. What's the worst that can happen? You buy in for $300 or so, lose it all, and your bankroll goes down to $700. You know you can make money on line at $.50/1.00 and $1/2. You have some small stream of income to reseed your poker account. So go ahead and try playing over your head.

You can make certain adjustments when you do this, to minimize your risk while not killing your ability to win. Play a generally tighter version of your best game - playing fewer speculative hands. Set a strict stop loss limit so you can return with enough of your bankroll still intact to handle the low stakes on line games if you fail to win here at $5/10. True, this is not the ideal way to play, but it can be a winning way to play in a particularly good game. So make an exception to the rule, play over your head, and enjoy yourself. You may win enough to make the step again for a longer period of time.

Rule 2. Don't drink alcohol while you play This is generally a wise guideline. Alcohol interferes with the brain's ability to function. Top-level poker requires considerable brainpower, so why put yourself at a disadvantage? Similarly, alcohol works as a depressant - tending to make many tired, distracted, inattentive, and sleepy. This surely diminishes your ability to stay and take advantage of a good game - yet another reason to eschew this intoxicant while playing poker.

Still, there are at least two good reasons to indulge, at least from time to time, even while playing poker - presuming that you can control your drinking once you begin. First of all, if the game is good, and others are drinking, you may not want to draw attention to yourself as an abstemious teetotaler. If everyone is drinking, laughing it up, and having a good time, it may look weird or at least somewhat suspect for you to ask for only a cup of coffee or water. You're probably already going to stand out some as a serious player. Not drinking is an unnecessary red flag that you are there to make a profit, not to have a good time. And that may be all the excuse that is necessary to rescind your invitation the next time there's a game.

I'm not suggesting that you drink like a fish. But if everyone's handing out the brewskies and the host asks, "What'll you have" there's no harm in asking for a beer too. You don't have to drink more than one - or even the entire beer. Few if any of the drinking players will notice how much you drink of your beer. But they may notice if you don't have one.

There's another reason - and this is admittedly a bit Machiavellian. If it's your home game, you want others to drink. Your apparent eagerness or at least willingness to imbibe may be the signal that it's "that kind of game" and therefore safe for your guests to indulge as well. Encourage this inclination with your behavior.

Consider this scene. There's a game at your house with people whom you've met in other games but never had to your house. They've seen you in the local poker room perhaps, where serious play is the rule. They don't know what to expect. Is this a "friendly game" like they're used to with their buddies - where players talk, watch TV, drink, eat and don't take the poker too serious. Or is this a serious affair like in the casino - where everyone tries to play their best game all the time, orders bottled water, and focuses nearly all of their attention on the game? They're waiting to see how you act to determine how they'll act.

Give them an excuse to drink by having drink yourself early on. Of course you need to have an eye on your own sobriety - because you really are trying to take their money. But have a beer at the start. But it's OK to drink early on just so long as you're at your best as the poker game progresses into the wee hours, when others tend to be more tired, looser, and easier to take advantage of - especially if they've been drinking.

Next time will examine more exceptions to these six rules.