If you're new to limit hold'em, and you've read a poker book for beginners, you're probably playing tight -- and that's fine. It's important, however, to understand that an ultra-tight strategy won't work forever, and even has its drawbacks. As I've written before, I think tight play is perfectly appropriate for someone who is just starting out in poker and has little understanding of the differing hand values. A problem can occur, however, if this new player has some success and then tries to move up to higher stakes without really being ready.
Because they know that information is critically important, winners probe much more frequently and effectively than most players. A "probe" is any action taken primarily to get information. It can be a bet, raise, question, statement, and so on. The critical issue is: What are you trying to accomplish?
Hi. Come on in. I had the deli send over a couple of those triple-decker sandwiches you like with hot corned beef, pastrami, salami, and Swiss cheese. Fill your face with one of those.
Hi. Come on in. Did you bring the pizza? Great. No anchovies, right? Toss me a slice with sausage and one with pepperoni. I'm really hungry, so I'll talk while we chew.
I recently blew into Las Vegas for a few days of poker, and my mind was a jumble. My union, the Writers Guild of America, was on strike, and I'd been spending intense time on the picket line. Also, I was organizing last-minute details for a trip to Moscow (to teach comedy to the Russians - don't ask), and was yet unsure whether my passport could make it to San Francisco and back in time to get visa approval for the trip.
I was playing poker at Bellagio recently, absolutely getting my brains beaten in, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was none other than my friend Craig Hartman, a successful businessman and poker player from Indiana, who wanted to tell me a poker story. Naturally, I couldn't wait to hear every last detail.
Hi. Come on in. I've cooked up a batch of mulligan stew. You've probably never had any. No one has made it since the end of the Great Depression of the 1930s. You never asked what was in it - you just ate it and were glad to get it. Dig in. Here's a question from the dark corner of a...
Hi. Come on in. I hope you're not hungry. I don't have much to eat today, just some cheese and crackers. Maybe we'll go out later and chow down.
The poker scene has grown immensely in the last few years as many new players have entered the poker world. But the poker world is a predatory one,
Hi. Come on in. Special treat today - I've made hot Reuben sandwiches. The best pastrami, tastiest provolone, sourest sauerkraut, and some Thousand Island dressing,
