Winning Wisdom

At only 27 years old, Gavin Griffin already holds one of the most impressive collections of poker's most prestigious titles: World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour championships.

Now, Card Player is giving its readers a chance to send questions directly to the poker prodigy.

Poker fans can send Griffin their questions to gg@CardPlayer.com. The questions can be about anything from poker strategy to his opinions on certain aspects of poker or his life as a poker pro traveling the circuit. The best questions will be answered by Griffin and published in Card Player. If your question makes it into print, we'll send you a free Card Player T-shirt.

Out-of-Position Play

Gavin:

My least favorite situation in poker is to be out of position and the preflop raiser. When I make a continuation-bet on the flop and my opponent calls me, does he have a draw or a pair? Is he just floating and will take the hand away on the turn if I check it? All of these things go through my mind, and it is difficult to know how to proceed.

I know that poker is situational and every flop can be different, but generally, how do you like to play when out of position against one opponent when you were the preflop raiser?

- Brooks Rogers

Hey, Brooks:

Obviously, the stock answer to this question is the old standby, "It depends." As always, the most important thing in knowing what to do is knowing your opponents. Let an aggressive opponent take the lead and bet into a more solid player, and then react to what he does on later streets. If a passive player calls you or raises you and you don't have much of a hand, there is no problem getting rid of it, because you don't want to be playing out of position against a solid player when the big money goes in. One of the things I like to do in this situation is play defensive poker. Do a lot of checking and calling with medium to good hands, and play fast with big hands and huge draws. Keeping the pot small when you are a bit weaker and playing big pots when you have a huge hand is never a bad way to go, right?

How Do You Do It?

Gavin:

Everyone hears these "Moneymaker" stories, in which someone parlays a small amount of money into a championship. However, nobody cares to recognize the work that it takes to grind it out day after day to reach the level that you have reached in poker. How do you do it? How do you go from grinding it out playing $1-$2 no-limit hold'em to winning a title in a major tournament? Do you think that you have to satellite into tournaments, or do you need a bankroll so that you can directly buy into the tournament you want to play, in order to be successful? I have been playing my heart out, but it seems like I need to have financial backing to get to the level at which I want to play, and I am beginning to become frustrated.
I am sure that you have dealt with all of the highs and lows of the business. I just do not understand what I must do to reach the next level of my game. Any sort of reply to this would be greatly appreciated.

- Ronald M. Elkins III

Hi, Ronald:

One of the things that I've always done, for better or worse, is stretch my bankroll a few different ways. First, I'll take a shot in a bigger game when I know that my bankroll can't handle playing that game on a regular basis. Of course, the game conditions have to be good and it can't be so high that it's going to affect my play. For instance, let's say you are regularly a $20-$40 limit hold'em player and have a playing bankroll of $12,000. You go to your local casino and there is a really juicy $50-$100 game going. Obviously, you're not adequately bankrolled to play this game on a regular basis, but it's not a bad idea to jump in the game with $2,000 or so and try to book a nice win. After a few of these nice wins, you can start being more of a regular in the game.

In regard to tournaments, satellites are always a good option, but if you consider yourself a good cash-game player, it might be better to spend the time that you would spend in satellites in cash games to win your buy-in. Finally, don't be afraid to take a shot at a game or tournament that you would usually not play if there is good value and it's not going to really hurt you financially.

Checking in the Dark

Gavin:

I play poker in casinos in Tunica, Mississippi, and it seems like more and more often, under-the-gun players are checking in the dark in cash games. What are they hoping to gain? When is this a good idea?

- Bill

Hey, Bill:

I have noticed this trend, as well. I think most people see someone on TV do it, so they presume it's a good idea without really thinking about what the ideas behind it are. I hate this play, because it severely limits my options. I often like to lead at a flop with the intention of three-betting, and that play is no longer available to me. I also think that a check-raise from someone who checks dark shows less strength than one from someone who has seen the cards before he checks.
Some people think checking in the dark will throw their opponents off. I guess that may be true at lower levels of cash games and tournaments, but I don't think it's a factor in bigger cash games and bigger buy-in tournaments. The other possible advantage that you gain is a sort of pseudo positional advantage. You get to react to the other players instead of them reacting to you, and if that is the way you like to play, it could be a useful tool.

Gavin Griffin is the newest member of Team PokerStars. Visit his website at www.gavingriffin.net.