Bullies are a part of life. They exist in grade school, middle school, high school and even the work place.
When I was a child growing up in Douglas Hollow, PA., a neighborhood made up of coal mining families -- all our fathers worked at Warden Mine, about a half mile away -- my brothers and I were targeted by bullies in our daily walks to school. We couldn't go to anybody else with our problems. We had to solve them ourselves, and that either meant giving in to their demands or fighting them. My brothers and I did a little bit of both.
A bully is convinced he is the boss. He is convinced that what you own really belongs to him. And he will take extraordinary measures to make it his.
The game of poker is filled with bullies. If there isn't one at your table, that's unusual. Just wait a while and one will come along.
There were bullies during my school days who intimidated me and I have certainly been awed and intimidated by bullies in poker. By their tactics, they were able to relieve me of a lot of my chips. That continued until one day I just got mad and said, 'No more.'
And I meant it.
Doyle Brunson put it this way. He tells of players who kept attacking him with raises early in his poker career. For a while, he put up with their tactics. Then, one day, he decided to end their bullying ways.
'I got tired of being their punching bag,' he said. 'I decided when they hit me, I was going to hit them twice as hard and I would keep doing that until they stopped hitting me.'
It's pretty easy to identify a bully at your table. He's generally the one with a lot of chips, a swagger, an attitude and a toothpick jutting out the corner of his mouth.
He keeps the table on edge with his bullying tactics and his typical bet is a raise. Much if not most of the time he doesn't have a hand. This is something to keep in the corner of your brain when you determine the best way to counteract him.
When a bully raises me, I first check his position. If he is in early position, I assume that his hand is a little better than if he was in late position. If he is in late position, the so-called 'steal' position, I assume he is on a steal and relax my standards. If I have a reasonable hand, I call or even re-raise him. After the flop, I come out betting regardless of what flops and I generally win the hand.
When you play like this against a bully, you take the aggression away from him and put it in your corner. In essence, you then become the bully and you make him the caller.
The objective of your game is to get rid of the bullies at your table and to replace them with yourself. And one of the most satisfying moments at your table should be the moment the bully picks up his chips -- and leaves.
You will occasionally lose a hand to the bully. That goes with the game. But don't let it bother you or throw your game on tilt. Just dig in your heels and play even harder the next time.
Bullies respect strength and they back down from aggression. It happens in grade, middle and high school and it works in the work place. It also is effective in poker. Good luck and let the games begin.
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 ).
