Long Range Benefits Of Being Gracious

Don’t ridicule opponents mistakes. You’ll motivate them, and they’ll play better. Always make it as comfortable as possible for your opponents to lose. The only strategically acceptable exception is you’ve busted them permanently. Then if you ridicule them, it can’t cost you anything in the future. It’s just bad manners. A similar Mad Genius concept applies to real life: If you’re not going to kill ’em, let ’em save face.

When Not To Bet

You should be very reluctant to bet a marginally strong hand into a consistent bluffer. You’ll often make more money checking and calling. (Note, though, that if the bluffer will not bet most losing hands he would have called with, you should bet.)

A Good Time To Bluff

One of the best times to bluff is when an opponent is staring you down, reaching for his chips, or otherwise threatening to call. While opponents who are trying to discourage your bet by threatening to call, MIGHT actually call, they don’t have hands powerful enough to raise. So, what remains are usually hands that they will be reluctant to call with. They will either call — reluctantly — or fold. Usually, in limit poker games where the size of the pot dwarfs the size of the bet, an opponent acting in this matter will fold often enough to give your bluff attempt an expectation of profit.

Don’t Play To Impress Your Opponents

Sometimes you’re frustrated because there’s such a large luck factor in poker. Once we master enough poker skills, it’s only natural to want to let others know that we are accomplished players. But I’ve seen a whole truckload of money lost in a half-hour by players wanting to impress others in a short span of time.

You might be able to do that in basketball with a few blocked shots, some fancy dribbling, and a couple of dunks; but poker isn’t the type of game that makes impressing others easy. Ultimately, if you vary from your game plan to impress opponents, you’re risking losing a lot of money that should have stayed in your purse or wallet. Sitting and waiting for an hour won’t look very impressive to your opponents, and choosing the routine thing instead of a fancy play won’t, either. But this is the way of winning poker.

Only occasionally can you use your expertise profitably to show off. Most of the time, you can’t. But, as a consolation, all the money you accumulate by the end of the year will BE impressive in the long term — unless you throw it away by trying to LOOK impressive in the short-term.

Listen For Sighs

Poker players who sigh and subsequently bet usually hold big hands. They’re trying to appear sad in an attempt to fool you. Among more sophisticated opponents, the sigh won’t be obvious. You’ll have to listen closely, but it’s often there — and it’s usually an act, whether subtle or more obvious.

Although this powerful tell won’t help you much playing online poker in today’s environment, it is one you should use against opponents sitting at the same physical table in traditional poker games. Seldom call a sigh.

Rake vs. Rent

When the house rakes money directly from your pot, you need a bigger advantage to call and raise. If you’re renting your seat by the hour, you should play more liberally.

Doyle Brunson

Having played at bet365 Poker for years we really enjoy and recommend them highly. bet365 is the lead member of the Playtech iPoker Network. (Sorry, no USA members)