Old Poker Adage

Earlier this week I had another one of my loyal blog followers directly request more columns involving poker. We know that people actually willing to voice their opinion represent a much larger number of people sharing that same opinion. Considering there are about 300,000,000 people in United States, the percent of those people that read my blog, plus a few international readers, with two people voicing their request for poker I’m assuming I have at least a half dozen of you craving this content. Do not worry. I hear your voices and have responded.

Today, I have written commentary on five of the most memorable poker adages or quotes I have encountered. It will explain some of my poker past, discuss a little strategy at the table, and most importantly show how poker is a microcosm of life.

1: Poker players like winning more than losing, but they like playing most of all.

I’m not sure I totally agree with this quote. Personally, I really like winning. When I was about twenty years old I began studying the game more seriously and I came across this quote in one of the books I read. I don’t remember which book or who said, but I remember why it was said. It will behoove you at the table if everyone is having a good time and the mood is carefree and fun, because then the other players will be less concerned about the money they are losing to you. Most players in a cardroom know how to play poker better than they are playing. (Mostly because folding and waiting isn’t fun.) So you don’t want to give them a reason to start focusing and playing better. This can also go to the other extreme is if you really make some mad that will likely cause them to play poorly too. However, that isn’t my recommendation. Keeping the mood fun and friendly allows me to have more fun too.

2: It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money. --Canada Bill Jones.

I’m not as cutthroat as Jones here, but here is my take on playing with a sucker at the table: The guy is going to dump his money to someone. You can’t prevent this, so you might as well get a piece of it.

I’ve played at tables where one person is so bad that even though I was ready to go home I chose to wait out the game as long as the particular individual was still seated. I used to make the mistake of playing too much in effort to capitalize on the poor play of the fish. My advice is to not drastically change your game. Maybe you will end up making money and not getting any of it from the sucker at the table. I’ve have had times where it caused where one bad player caused me to alter my strategy too much and I ended up playing poorly. Just recognize with a donator at the table the game is better and your odds of winning more money go up. Sometimes you may play a couple more hands because you can get in cheap and he is involved, but don’t let it drastically change your style of play.

Also, keep in my mind the quote from Rounders.

3: No one bluffs a made a hand.

This is an old poker adage. Let me explain. If you are holding a strong hand at the table, and are betting it properly, it may be obvious that you are holding a quality hand. So later in the hand if a player makes a large bet or raise, you will likely have to give him credit for a monster. This is because he knows that you are holding a strong hand, thus you will be unlikely to want to give it up. Nobody bluffs a made hand. This concept requires a couple levels of psychology, but every once in a while you may have to lay down your trips when your opponent raises and you know that he knows that you have what you have.

4: Trust everyone, but always cut the cards. –Benny Binion

This quote is more interesting if you understand the character of Benny Binion. He was well-known for several things. Things like: being a major proponent of poker, casino owner, murder. Binion was also the first Vegas casino owner to not have a maximum amount someone could wager. I like Benny’s advice here. In general I put a great deal of trust in people, and the systems we have in place. That is why I can do things like not balance my checkbook, because I assume the bank is keeping things accurate. I don’t choose to live a life worried about stuff that has given me no reason to worry. But if you’re going to live a life like that of Benny Binion “always cut the cards” just in case.

5: Life is a like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; though the way you play it is free will. –Jawaharlal Nehru

This is what I try to teach my students. There are a lot of things in life you can’t control, but you still have to do your best with what you’re dealt. Some of us in life started off with better “starting cards.” Just because you aren’t being dealt great cards doesn’t mean you still can’t have a winning session.

Poker Quotes:

There is no sense in being precise, when you don’t even know what you’re talking about. --John von Neumann

Industry executives and analysts often mistakenly talk about strategy as if it were some kind of chess match. But in chess, you have just two opponents, each with identical resources, and with luck playing a minimal role. The real world is much more like a poker game, with multiple players trying to make the best of whatever hand fortune has dealt them. -- David Moschella

In the long run there's no luck in poker, but the short run is longer than most people know." -- Rick Bennett

[Poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great. --Walter Matthau

The guy who invented poker was bright, but the guy who invented the chip was a genius. –Big Julie

I hope to break even this week. I need the money. –Veteran gambler

There are two days in poker that you will never forget. One is the first time you’ll lose $100,000 in a night and the other is the first time you’ll lose $1,000,000 in a night. –Chip Reese

Serious poker is no more about gambling than rock climbing is about taking risks. - Alfred Alvarez

Most of the money you'll win at poker comes not from the brilliance of your own play, but from the ineptitude of your opponents. --Lou Krieger

There are few things that are so unpardonably neglected in our country as poker. The upper class knows very little about it. Now and then you find ambassadors who have sort of a general knowledge of the game, but the ignorance of the people is fearful. Why, I have known clergymen, good men, kind-hearted, liberal, sincere, and all that, who did not know the meaning of a "flush." It is enough to make one ashamed of the species. --Mark Twain