Some people never learn....
Don't feel like I am bashing my readers. I include myself as part of this list of indictments of people who never learn. I am specifically referring to Texas Hold'em.
There is a part of Texas Hold'em where many players falter and I can guarantee you it costs them money. This failure in strategy is so major it can mean the difference between being a winning or losing Hold'em player.
Now most of us know how to identify the raising hands in Texas Hold'em. We are dealt A-K, A-Q, pocket queens or jacks, and our natural inclination is to raise.
We get several callers and the flop comes 10-8-7 off-suit.
The book tells us to make a follow-up bet which we do. Fourth street brings a five.
Some players will make a second bet representing strength...
but some won't.
And those are the players I am writing this column for.
If you fail to make that second bet, you are making a mistake. True, you might be beat and it will cost you money. But you need to make that bet if you want to develop into a winning poker player.
Poker is all about deception...
You need to keep your foes confused as to the strength of your hand.
That A-K you are holding could well be pocket kings or aces. Your opposition doesn't know that. But if you falter on betting on fourth street it is like you are turning your hand up and showing it to your enemies.
Poker Players Have Long Memories
They will remember when you bet an empty hand to the river. And in the future when you do have a good hand, they will pay you off. That is why the second and sometimes even the third bet is necessary.
Now some people don't have the courage to make a bet when they aren't holding a pair or a winning hand. If that is the case, my suggestion is they should not be playing poker for money.
My friend Doyle Brunson is on the verge of retirement after more than 60 years of playing poker. He developed the strategy for making those follow up bets with nothing and the strategy has paid off for him over the years.
I suggest
you develop a poker face and a poker frame of mind. Play aggressive poker, even when it costs you money. that is one of the tools you need in your arsenal of weapons to stay ahead of the game.
The winning cards will eventually come to you, but you need to play losing cards like winners if you hope to end the game a winner.
Harold Smith Jr., who for years ran Harold's Club in Reno, NV. with his father Pappy Smith, wrote a book back in the 1950s called 'I Want To Quit Winners.'
Smith spent his entire life trying to overcome the odds at poker, blackjack, dice and other games of chance. In the end, alcohol defeated him and he left the games a loser.
Don't you be that way. Make the second and sometimes the third bet. It will pay off for you in the end.
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 ).
