Know When to Fold 'em

I went with my buddy Robert to his regular poker night last evening. Card games and gambling are two things that I generally stay away from. I usually stay away from card games because I do not generally care for them and, just as I get used to the rules and rhythm of one game, people change the game on me. I stay away from gambling because I have a bit of an obsessive personality when it comes to these activities and do not want to become addicted to it and lose my shirt (or more).

However, it was a friendly game with set limits and payouts for the top three players. So, I figured, I would be sociable, try my skills at this game, and could walk away with only loosing $40 (two $20 games).

The rules were fairly straightforward: Texas No-limit Hold’em was the game throughout (so I didn’t have to worry about new rules, wild cards, etc.), 10 minute blinds (meaning every ten minutes the blinds doubled), and your minimum bet had to be at least one multiple of the small blind (to call) or the big blind to raise. Two games, $20 buy-in for each. Red chips were 1, blue chips were 2, green chips were 5, and black/gray chips were 10. A few other incidental rules, but nothing important.

I tied for last place in the first game, being one of two players knocked out during an all-in play between three players. However, I did have one good play in the first game—I had a two hearts in my hand, was forced by the rising blinds to go all-in, and pulled out a flush draw to win the pot and stay in for two more hands. It was pretty exciting.

I did better in the second game. Fairly early on I made a “read” on a guy at the table and, with absolutely nothing in my hand (Jack high card, nothing else), managed to bluff the socks off him, steal the pot, and put him in a low-chip bind. Then, in order to set him up for later, I actually showed my bluff to the table. Robert was impressed with the move, as it was a stone-cold bluff and I had the moxie to actually show it, and said that it was the ‘play of the night.’ He also commented that I took that gentleman, who is normally a pretty aggressive player, out of his comfort zone for the rest of the game. Later on, with crap on the flop and the same person being aggressive trying to stay in the game, I played him the exact same way. I managed to get him to go all-in and then I turned over trip Deuces to take the pot on what, I am fairly sure, he thought was another bluff attempt. I managed to make it into third place in this game, and won my $20 back for the game.

What I learned from this night is that playing against live opponents is very different than playing poker online, even with other actual people (as opposed to . I did not care for how quickly the blinds went up, as it caused the players to constantly want to speed up play—and I felt a few times rushed into a bet or a fold by this. I also found that I had more success when I varied how I played—I played tighter the entire first game and was knocked out early and did not feel comfortable. I loosened up my style a bit, varied from hand to hand how I would play (tight or aggressive), and had a better read on how the rest of the table played. Robert also suggested that I could learn to use the blinds, betting position, and the “big stack” better with additional playing time; there were a few times where I probably should have used my chips and my betting position to force some people out and I did not. But that just takes experience and a better knowledge of the rules and game mechanics.

More importantly, I learned that I play very differently when it is my money on the line. The style I developed during online play with fake money just did not suit me when I had real cash on the table.

I had a great time, learned a lot, and will certainly consider playing again in the future.