On a micro-scale, we can deal with the easy numbers. My favorite games are single-table tournaments with the top three places paying out. (These are also known by the somewhat counter-intuitive name sit-n-goes. Once you “sit” you can’t “go” until the game is over.) The bubble here is fourth place. Out of the last ten games I’ve played I’ve been first, second, third or fourth–so the end-game strategy has been fresh on my mind. Be aware, this is on-line advice and my not apply in person.

Every time I reach the top four, everyone tightens up except for players with a significant chip lead. These players steal blinds with bets four or five times the big blind. I’ve found that when the blinds are high enough to significantly impact the smaller or mid stacks, that is overkill. The minimum raise is often enough to get the player to fold pre-flop. According to traditional advice, this is a weak play. I agree, it is weak, but if it works it works. I have been using this strategy over the last ten games and have been first or second most of them. In addition, when you do get a call, you are still seen as on the offensive for the hand. Most people will respect your post-flop bet assuming your table reputation is solid.

Disclaimer: The minimum raise has worked for me consistently, but only under specific circumstances. I’ve been min. raising (1)  online, (2) with four or less players at the table,  and (3) not in the big blind. I use the min. bet to steal the big blind, it is less likely to get anyone who has already called the big blind to fold. Also I’ve only tested this tactic with buy-ins between $10 and $30. Your mileage may very.

The first tell to which I’ve turned my attention are shaky hands. It is a common misconception that shaky hands are a sign of fear. Players do the fear math and assume Mr. Shaky has a weak hand. Therefore, any bet is a bluff.
The opposite is likely true. Players never make the decision to bluff when scared. True, they may become scared if they believe you may call their bluff, but that is after it has been made. The shaking hands were likely noticed as the chips were moved into the table. As a rule, shaking means strong, not weak.

You have probably heard this before, I know I have. Many poker books speculate that shaking is the sign of a monster hand. While this is a much sounder assumption than fear, I have a bit more to add.

I’ll go ahead and admit, this tell affects me. Like most tells, it is a subconscious occurrence. Unlike many, it isn’t one that can be easily controlled once identified. Imagine getting a stubborn case of hiccups at the table, it just kinda has to run its course. Because of this, I’ve played very close attention to when it happens. The good news? I don’t give away as much information as I thought.

My hands shake when I have the most at risk. It happens when I have a significant portion of my chips on the line, whether I have the nuts or I am bluffing my ass off. Further analysis shows:

• I am usually the aggressor
• The temperature is usually cold
• The risk is a function of relative chip stack and completely independent of whether or not the chips represent hundreds of dollars or nothing at all
• Early Parkinson’s may be setting in (but I hope not)

My opponents already know when I’m risking most my chips and am playing aggressive, so if that is all that can be summized from my wavering paws, my net information loss is zero. It is important for you to keep in mind that while you may perceive something as a tell, it may mean nothing. Inversely, it is important that I keep in mind that while I have found causes for my “tell,” they may not be the only causes.

I recognize that I have tells. We all do. As soon as I recognize and understand mine, I’ll be sure that you and my other possible opponents will be the last to know. If you have had any noteworthy experiences with tells, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

• Shaking hands or a flush face usually come from the adrenaline caused by a player’s excitement about a strong hand. Don’t assume shaking means nervousness, often the player is quite confident they will win.
• Your opponent will likely cover his cards  with his hand or look back at them more than once. This is a subconscious action in line with the desire to protect what one considers valuable. Keep in mind that you are looking for anything out of the ordinary. If he always covers his card in the same way, it means nothing.
• Disinterest and drawing attention away from the game is often an act to disguise a big hand.
• A player with a weak hand, hoping to bluff, may throw his chips into the pot aggressively and make a point for direct eye contact with the player thinking about the call. Often acting strong equals weak and acting weak equals strong.

It is also important to note that if you are up against an inexperienced (or drunk) player, the tells will be less reliable. This is because tells don’t really give you information about your opponent’s hand, only about how you opponent perceives the strength of his hand. If the hand is misread, you will be mistold.

Mistold is a new word copyright HellsColdDay 2008.

I may be tired, but studies show contagious yawning is a function of empathy. You yawn because you relate to the emotional state of being tired, bored, or whatever. You are yawning vicariously though the other guy.

In poker, empathy helps to get you into the mind of your opponent. This is a beneficial place to be as long as you don’t get too attached. I theorize that bad play, like yawning, is contagious.

In my own “studies” I have seen a maniac sit down among responsible, veteran players and slowly drive them insane. Before I know it, the whole table is playing every hand, chasing to the river, consistently over betting the pot…madness! I admit nothing changes a player’s outlook like a bad beat, but even before the maniac draws out on someone, the maniac flu spreads. This is true live, and even more true in US Online Poker, but is there a strategy around it?

I know the strategies at play here: “you must become a maniac to beat a maniac” and all that, but these are BAD strategies. If you can’t inoculate youself from maniac flu, the best strategy is to find a new table. Put emphasis on empathizing with the pros.

Locally, I have a few options for poker leagues: Full House Poker, Any Two Cards, the Georgia Poker Club, and the Atlanta Poker Club. If you would like a formal review post of each, let me know. As I am unsure of the international popularity of these leagues, I am holding off.

Leagues are usually well organized and have a weekly following of regulars. They are free to play and charge the venue for bringing in customers. My issue with using leagues as an avenue to improve your game comes from their alternate revenue streams.

• Players can buy more chips by purchasing food or drink from the bar. For example, a league may offer an additional 500 chip for every $10 spent.
• Players may have the option of buying premium league memberships for $100 or $200 for the year which ensures a certain chip up nightly.
• Players who volunteer to deal the table can receive a chip payment.
• Players who refer newcomers to the game can be rewarded with a chip up.

In short, if you show up to play in one of these leagues and don’t expect to spend anything, expect to be at a major chip disadvantage.

At first this bothered my sense of fair play, but it only brings the game closer to real poker. More at risk and, assuming the league uses some money to offer better prizes, more reward. I don’t blame anyone for a fair business model. However, it is important to know what you are getting into. Once you start playing “free” poker every night you may find yourself out of a lot of money. That is money you could have used playing real poker, and even if you lose, it is a better gauge of your skill level. Have fun at the bars, but when you start to get serious about your game, risk for the real rewards.

That said, there is one time that I do recommend pushing your table image with a little theater–after a lost pot, especially when a bad beat is involved.

There you are processing your loss. You have the strength of will to accept it and move on. That is awesome, you are a good poker player, but lets not let an opportunity pass you by. Say your next hand is strong–a pocket pair or big slick. Bet big like you are on tilt, because the table expects you to be on tilt. Act like you are throwing caution to the wind with a touch of “poor me.” You will likely get a call from a sub-par hand and be in position to take them for a ride to the river if in fact you are confident that you still hold the winning hand.

For me, this act means even more. After a bad beat, I am on tilt. It’s only natural. I’m not full tilt, but I am still stewing. After all, the poker gods have forsaken me. When I act as though I am further along the road to tiltsville than I am, I usually right my course. I focus on the role that I’m playing rather than focusing on the last hand. By acting on tilt, I am no longer on tilt.

Give this strategy a try. In fact, make it a point to play the next hand after a bad beat as long as the position advantage is on your side. The state of your image may well earn you better implied odds when the betting starts.

Warning: If you are the type to easily go full tilt, do not try this. The acting will only be fooling yourself.

Example: If a girl enters my friend’s life. He is immediately happy with her, but is unsure about a lasting future, he’d tell me he met a 77. As we know, mid pocket pairs are great starting hands, but with little room for improvement. If the relationship lasts a year, he might tell me he saw a flop of 4 6 9. This would tell me the relationship is going about as well as it did at the begining. Only one overcard lets me know that the risk of them breaking up is still relatively low. The chance at a straight says she could be the one, but it would take a runner-runner, so still not likely. If my friend was thinking about marriage seriously, I would have expected at least another 7 of the flop.

I’ve made some observations on the game. Most first loves start out with immense infatuation, the metaphorical pocket rockets. These immature relationships usually don’t improve on the flop turn or river, and you end up with a weak hand in the end. Sure, there are cases of high school sweatheats living happily ever after, and those cases can be somed up with aces catching trips on the flop and four-of-a-kind of the turn. Unfortually, this is a rare hand. I feel the strongest foundation for a realationship would be seen as a suited A K. A love that blossums into an early flush on the flop and only improves to a royal flush by the river. In other words, true love.

While this game can be used by either sex, it is tailor-made for guys who often poorly express their feelings, especially to other dudes. Give this exercise a whirl and if it doesn’ work out for you…hate the player, not the game.

Note: This is not to be confused with the method of rating the attractivness of the opposite sex by relating them to a blackjack hand. I first heard of this on the television show How I Met Your Mother. For example a hand like 10 A or anything equallying 11 would be ideal, because you’re saying that you’d hit that. It’s less of a relationship game and more of a one-off gag, but funny all the same.

It is an important habit to kick for two reasons. One: Looking at your hole cards before the action is on you gives the other players at the table more time to read you and more time for you to give your hand away. I don’t care if you think you have a great poker face, you shouldn’t give away any more information then you have too. Two: Looking at your hole cards early keeps your attention away from where it is most needed–the other players. You should be watching their reactions and noting how they bet while you can, your cards are not going anywhere.

I know it is tempting to see what you have, and you may think you will need more time to decide how to play them. Show some self-control, your cards aren’t going anywhere. If you need time, take it. Never rush for the table’s sake, just keep in mind that the time you take can be a tell unto itself.

Rochambeau

Many people are introduced to poker through other games. According to the bios of the WSOP players, such gateway games include backgammon, chess, and other card games like bridge. It is a nature progression in that all of those games include an element of luck and an element of skill. I offer another game into the mix–Rochambeau, AKA Rock Paper Scissors.

Why RPS? It is perfect in its simplicity. I hate the fact that people use Rock Paper Scissors to decide who rides shotgun or who will be the DD for the night. It reduces the game to the equivalent of drawing straws. It is, in fact, a game of skill. If you know your opponent well enough, it has absolutely no element of luck at all. For my money, Rock Paper Scissors is the best exercise there is in reading your opponent.

To know when the player across from you is sitting on aces or has completed his flush, first know when he will throw scissor. Is he the type of man who would open with rock? Is he capable of following up two papers in a row with yet another paper? It sounds crazy, but the more you can read people in other games, the more successful you will be in poker…and, actually, in life in general.

Liar’s Poker

Liar’s poker is also a popular bar game that only requires a dollar bill to play. In the place of cards, the eight-digit serial number on the dollar bill (see above in blue) represents each “hand.” The object is to make the highest bid of a number that does not exceed the combined total held by all the players. The numbers are usually ranked in the following order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 (10) and 1 (Ace). For example, if the first player bids three 4’s, he is predicting there are at least three 4’s among all the players, including himself. The next player can bid a higher number at that level (three 5’s), any number at a higher level (four 2’s) or challenge. The end of the game is reached when a player makes a bid that is challenged. If the bid is successful, he wins a dollar from each of the other players, but if the bid is unsuccessful, he loses a dollar to each of the other players.

A lot can go wrong when you play AJ and other marginal hands. Novice players think the worst case senario is missing the flop and losing their pre-flop investment upon folding. It takes experience to learn the real danger can be hitting the flop. In the case of AJ, an ace on the flop can give a false sense of confidence. I’m not saying a bet or even a raise here would be the wrong move, but it is important not to over value your kicker. A Jack is good, but not great when you call in late position. Marginal hands fall victim to slightly better hands all the time. It is these hands, when the kicker matters, that usually earns or costs the most of your stack.

If you bring a knife to a gun fight, assume that the gun is loaded.