Bluffing

I've just finished an 85 minute course on playing the middle phase of a poker tournament. The more I thought about it and talked to my fellow pros, we all came to the same conclusion - Its all about bluffing.

I also found out that teaching someone how to bluff is not very straightforward. Some people are born to bluff and they need to learn to tone it down. But mostly, the human beast is very cautious. We probably picked up the trait as we saw a fellow primate make a poor decision, such as eat a hard red berry, or fail to check for mountain lions as he walked a winding trail. In any case, we tend to not take chances and be wary of what we do. In poker, this can be a problem.

The way I decided to best get people to feel comfortable making bluffs was to first review, in great detail, the best times to bluff. I came up with my top six. The #1 best time to bluff is known and utilized regularly by all good players. In fact, I didn't have to discuss this one at all because I have a full 60 minute course on it - the continuation bet. #2 on the bluff parade is the position bluff. If everyone in the hand checks to you, more times than not they got nada - a very good time to put in a bet. I review a group of simulated hands showing these bluffs and the other four situations with analysis on my web site.

The next thing I talk about is not the bluff itself, but the hands leading up to the bluff. You need to create the right image - tight and ABC. I would say 40% of making a good bluff can directly be attributed to the hands you already played. Which also involves the chemistry of the table, your profile of your opponents and momentum. Bluffs are not something that should be over used because they are very high risk. When your mojo is working, you're feeling confident and cool. This leads me to the next most important factor - your demeanor. Then finally chip stack, overall strategy and goals need to go into the overall bluff percentage you want to hit.

There was so much to cover, I'll need to add another course on advanced bluffing methods. Who'd have thought there was so much involved in throwing your chips in a pot when you have nothing. Go figure.

Balancing Act: Life as in Poker

I think unconsciously, we are all making decisions on a sliding scale. There are always extremes and we are always adjusting how we live, act and relate based on our mood, our goals, our upbringing etc. For example, there is work and family. How much should we focus on our work and how much time should we spend with our family? In the short term, there is a drive to be at work and make as much money as we can. Be successful. Be rich. But in the long term, we find out that accumulating excess cash at the expense of spending time with our family is an empty pursuit. Not many people on their deathbed say; "I wish I spent more time at the office."

On the other hand, we do need to make enough to ensure our family's security and to achieve some personal satisfaction. So we slide our actions on the "Family/Work scale" that works best for us.

We also have scales relative to Eat/Starve. Friends/No friends. Organize/disorganize. Exercise/relax. etc. Life is a big balancing act where we try to keep things just right. When things are out of balance, we can fall down the evil road of drugs, alcohol or infidelity or some other unhappy failing.

Personally I do yoga once a week. Been doing it now for 22 years and haven't missed a week. Besides working wonders on my weak back, it gives me a chance to reflect on the balances in my life. Many times we are unaware of the scale and we fall into these ruts. I don't say I completely "unskew" my ruts (far from it), but I use that meditative time to make some adjustments.

Poker works almost the exact same way. I'm currently working on a course on Tournament Play during the middle phase. A good player carefully slides each scale in a dynamic way as new information and situations change. For example, in tournament poker it is absolutely critical that you make moves (bluff or semi-bluff). How often you do so is the sliding scale. You may slide toward bluffing a lot if: prior attempts were successful; you are the chip leader; your opponents are playing passive (ABC) poker; good opportunities keep presenting themselves; you haven't been getting good starting cards etc. The good player keeps changing his or her bluff percentage based on everything in his or her poker universe. The weak player plays the same way every time. Being aware in poker and acting on what you perceive leads to success in the long term. And guess what? It's all about the long term.

Poker Think

Often in the poker room, a player will come up to me and ask; "Did I do the right thing?" Then he or she goes on to describe a particular hand, the betting etc. I reassure them that they played it fine (which they usually did). Now that I have these intensive poker courses, I get inquiries from people who ask me something like; if you have AK and a player goes all in ahead of you, do you call? I sent them a response that essentially amounts to; "it depends."

My real feeling about these scenario interactions is that if you ask a question like that; you're not getting it. You're not thinking like a successful poker player. Poker is a game where you not only need to take a myriad of factors into account when you consider what to do, but you also need to work hard to NOT play hands the same time every time. Deception is a HUGE factor in being a quality player. You're trying to throw your opponents off. You're trying to get in their head. Frustrate them. How in the world could you possibly do that if you play hands by way of some formula. Can't be done.

Also, the world of quality poker is a world of probabilities. A very tricky world. You take into account the probability that you have the best hand. The chances of hitting a draw. The chances your opponent will fold. This all makes poker so interesting. So you need to keep a running sense in your head how often you performed certain moves and try to keep your proportion within a prescribed success range. As I've been thinking about poker and poker strategy, I figured a dozen or so detailed courses. But it wasn't even close. First one needs so to understand poker think. Then one needs to know how to play basic (ABC) poker. Then all the standard situations need to be reviewed and analyzed. That just lays the groundwork. Now we need to get into tournament poker. Then live, cash poker. Then advanced moves. By the time I was done, it was clear 60 to 70 hours (courses) of instruction would be necessary. I'm up to 13 courses on the site and I'm having a ball reaching back into my pedagogic grab bag and creating all kinds of content, exercises and interactions. At least 50 more on on the drawing board and are coming available at a rate of about 3 every two weeks. (That's why I'm offering unlimited access now for only $4.99/month. The offer is only available for the next few months or so. The price will be much higher later on.)

If you decide you want to be a great poker player, expect to put in hours and hours of study, work and practice. Some say you need ten years to get to the highest levels. I think you can get there much faster. But you have to be focused and motivated. But most importantly, you gotta love to play the game.

Looking at the World Differently

Ever since I've made the jump to playing poker for at least part of my income, I've noticed some very interesting effects on my general life outlook.

First of all, I see money in a very different way. Since it comes and goes in waves, it has lost much of its significance to me. By that, I mean for example, I hired this book promoter (Kennata) a few months back to set up some book signings. Kennata could notta do anything right. She turned out to be totally incompetent and I pretty much lost all the money I paid her and she took 100 of my books and never returned them. In the past, I would have been very disturbed and resentful and I would have pulled out all the stops to get my money back. Now. I say, "Darn, $3200 down the drain. That sucks." I move on. It's like I had a real bad day at the tables. Everything is compared to a day at the tables. I get a tax refund check for $4500. Nice. A good day at the tables. Money is coming into my pocket and leaving it far more frequently than before. It's the way of the poker pro. I think this is a positive change in my world view. I see money more clearly for what it is. It isn't the be all or end all for my existence. Far from it. Just the makings of a bad day or a good day. No big deal. I can now focus on the really important things in life. Time. Family. Friends. Creating. Art.

I think it has also forced me to be much more aware of the moment. Just as Utah becomes existential in the tropical wilderness, I've become more attuned to the present. For example, every time I get a nice payoff from a tournament or big cash win, I use a formula for the disbursement of my winnings. Let's say I just won $10,000. Of that I take 25% ($2,500) and put it away. I use another $2,500 for everyday expenses. Another quarter is reinvested into my poker bankroll. And, most importantly, I spend $2500 right away on something fun, something I can enjoy that very moment, usually with my wife and family. Once I took my wife on a two week trip to Italy. Another time I bought a big flat screen TV. A cruise. Refinished our basement. A cross country trip in a monster RV. Five days in St. Lucia. All in the last five years or so. Poker has allowed me to enjoy the journey. To experience, savor and relish all the steps along the way and not sweat the small stuff. Thanks poker, you've opened my eyes.