Questions And Answers

One of the problems facing a poker player has to do with judgment.

Best-selling author Og Mandino said every individual needed to deal with four rules in order to lead a good overcoming life. Mandino is recognized as one of the greatest motivational writers who ever lived. His many books sold countless millions of copies around the world.

His rules for life were summed up in something he called the God Memorandum. The rules were Count Your Blessings Daily, Go The Extra Mile Always, Proclaim Your Rarity, and Use Wisely Your Powers of Choice.

In poker...

...a player must make a choice on every hand. The choices are, 'Do I call, fold, raise or re-raise.' They never go away.

Every hand and every flop is different. There are so many different combinations of cards that it would be impossible to come up with a strategy for each of them. I am going to offer my readers several different hands and flops and give them advice on how to handle that particular situation.

Here is hand number one:

You are dealt pocket queens and raise the pot. You get three callers. The flop comes king, eight, six. Player number one bets, player number two calls.

What do you do?

Based on my many years of experience I would say your action depends on the makeup of your table. If you are sitting at a loose table where players will play almost any two cards, there is no question that you should call the bet and maybe even raise it.

If you are playing against a group of conservative players, you would act differently. I would probably call the bet and wait for fourth street. If I fail to improve and a normally passive player comes out betting and gets sa call, I would probably fail, knowing I was beat.

In hand number two, you raise with ace-king suited. The flop comes 10, seven, five.

What do you do?

My suggestion is you make at least two continuation bets. If you get a single caller on fourth street and fail to catch a pair you can either bet or check on the river. You either have a winner or loser and there is little you can do about the results.

A player who has been losing heavily raises and you are the one called with a king, four of hearts. The flop comes jack, six, three off suit. You check and the player bets. You call. Fourth street produces a five, giving you a possible straight.

What do you do?

It's a no-brainer. You bet. The player calls. On the river, regardless of what falls, you make a wager. The raiser will probably throw his hand away.

Those are just three hands. Learn to think like a poker player and win.

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 ).