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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

May 12, 2007

Running Scared?

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experience. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In a recent entry to her blog, Susie Isaacs describes how she managed to lose her entire stack of buy-in chips in a big tournament --- on the first hand! She flopped the nut straight in middle position with ace-king suited, and went for the kill. Her thought processes were correct: she figured the two opponents, whom she'd never played against before, might be holding pairs, but since they were the blinds, they might be defending. But as often happens in poker, the river card filled someone else up and she was out of the contest.

As excruciatingly painful as it is, though, what's important about the whole event, which probably took less than two minutes, is that none of the three people in the pot were too timid or too squeamish. And that's what poker, especially tournament poker, is all about.

(You can read the play-by-play at http://www.susieisaacs.blogspot.com/. It's the May 9, 2007 entry.)

Back in 2005, David Apostolico, author of three very readable books about poker and a polished player himself, encountered a similar situation that occurred as a result of a totally different thought process. Down to three players, the tournament promised a healthy difference in prize money between first and third. As the chip leader, Apostolico hoped to maintain that lead while setting up for a big move against an overly aggressive second-lead player who managed to give the third-place finisher the boot. Meanwhile, while waiting for the trap hand, Apostolico lost his chip lead. Finally, the opportunity arises when he's dealt a suited big slick. The river card gave his opponent three sixes and the win. Apostolico didn't apologize for his plan but did admit that his opponent's fearless aggressive play to take the chip lead was the turning point. He concluded his article by writing, "I was confident I could out play Player A head's up (and I think I did) but I never should have sacrificed the safety net of a superior chip stack."

As excruciatingly painful as it is, what's important about the whole event, which probably took less than two minutes, is that Apostolico's opponent was not too timid or too squeamish. And that's what poker, especially tournament poker, is all about.

(You can read the entire article at www.readybetgo.com/poker/strategy/poker-aggression-2589.html)

That old big slick comes into play a lot when focusing on aggressive poker. My friend Paul told me he recently made a minor score with that very hand, suited in diamonds. He played it to the letter from middle position and wasn't bothered when the flop came Q-Q-10. The possibility of three sisters came to mind but he figured to plow through that and when his opponent bet the minimum, he just called. The turn was a low card, he doesn't remember what, which brought a big bet out. Paul thought for a few seconds then aggressively pushed his chips in. I'm betting he said a little prayer when his opponent called and I'm sure he did not add an amen when he saw the 9-10 slowly materialize. I didn't get a complete blow-by-blow description; however, I just know some fist-pumping action took place before the river produced a jack.

As excruciatingly painful as it was to see trip tens against a draw, what's important about the whole event, which probably took less than two minutes, is that Paul was not too timid or too squeamish. At this point, both players played appropriately, one trying to trap and the other trying to muscle. And unless there's a miracle split pot, somebody wins, somebody loses. And that's what poker, especially tournament poker, is all about. You can define aggression in a number of ways, not the least of which implies hostility. The player who openly expresses his methodology of aggression as superior hatred is doing it all wrong. He can do it right just by leaving the twin evils of timidity and squeamishness behind.

For a good example of controlled aggression, watch Barry Greenstein play the game then, if you haven't mastered the skill, try to imitate him.