During my childhood days, we played a lot of games in our neighborhood. One of my favorites was 'Liar, Liar, Who's On Fire?'
I don't remember exactly how the game went but it had something to do with lying and telling tall stories. Children are famous for doing that and some never grow out of the habit of exaggerating the truth.
Poker players do the very same thing.
If you have played any amount of poker in a casino setting, you will notice that some of the players will talk up a storm before and even during hands. This is done to fool the other players into believing they are really not that interested in the outcome of the hand.
Don't fool yourself. It's just a sham. They are vitally interested in the outcome.
Except in rare occasions, poker players rarely tell the truth. They will be out of position when it's your turn to bet. As you ponder whether to bet or check, they will clutch their chips and act like they are ready, even eager, to call.
Don't believe them. In most cases, they are playing 'Liar, Liar, Who's On Fire.'
Poker is a game of tells. One of the leading experts in identifying tells is Mike Caro, who has even written books on the subject.
Caro considers body language a dead giveaway in determining the strength of a player's hand. A player sits slouched in his chair, seemingly uninterested in the action of the game. Then he receives a hand and suddenly his posture changes. He becomes more alert. He sits up straight at the table and leans forward. Beware. He has something and is preparing for action.
A player who makes a big move with his chips, like King Kong on top of a New York skyscraper, usually has nothing. It's all a facade. While players will occasionally hold a big hand, generally they do not and a call by you will win the pot.
Cute little raises by a player also signify a big hand. Once I was playing at The Orleans Casino in Las Vegas and I had four aces, two in my hand and two on the board which showed A-A-K-Q-3. The A-K-Q were all clubs. I made a small bet. My opponent made a small raise.
I raised him again. It was a small raise. He countered with another little raise. I smiled. I knew what he had and made another small raise.
The other players stiffened. They thought they knew -- no, make it they absolutely knew -- what we were holding.
The bad beat jackpot had reached $49,000. I made a small raise and he re-raised me. We continued our cat-and-mouse game until one of us ran out of chips. When he turned over his royal flush, the table exploded in cheers. We had cracked the bad beat jackpot.
I couldn't help looking him in the eye. 'Liar, Liar, who's on fire,' I said. We shook hands. He collected $11,000, I collected $22,000 and the six other players picked up $2,000 each.
Study your table. Learn who the liars are and play them accordingly.
If a player has a reputation for being super-tight, keep an eye on him. Let's say you raise the pot with pocket queens. He calls the raise and the flop comes 10-8-2 off-suit. He checks. You bet. He raises. You re-raise and he makes a substantial re-raise.
Throw away your hand. You don't need to see his cards. You are beat.
'Liar, Liar, Who's On Fire.' It's a great game regardless of your age. Play it sometimes. It's fun and it can be very profitable when the game is poker.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
