How well do you really play poker? Step back and take a good look. Like the television show The O'Reilly Factor, it's no spin time. Give yourself an honest evaluation. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Before you evaluate yourself, though, let's evaluate me. I think I need to wake up and smell the coffee in regard to my results at the World Series of Poker over the years. I've won a bracelet, I'm in the top five for "number of times in the money" at the WSOP, and I've made the money six times out of 11 in the $10,000 buy-in championship event. Hmm, all of that doesn't look too bad, so what's wrong? Plenty! Start brewing the coffee.
For starters, being in the money that many times and winning only one bracelet certainly isn't good. In addition, being in the top five for number of times in the money but ranking only about 70th on the all-time money winners list certainly doesn't compute too well. And, finally, although I've made the money six times in the main event, I've yet to make the final table – another stat that doesn't shine.
Could I have done better? Sure. The questions are: Why haven't I done better? Why haven't I made more money? Why haven't I won more tournaments? I'm convinced it's because of my style of play, which is what I call "solid." This style is not optimal for achieveing the best results in tournaments. In my case, I reached the money with a short stack of chips on numerous occasions, and thus was not a serious threat to contend for the championship bracelet. It's apparent that I need to adjust my style to get out of my "in the money" mode and start going for the gold.
The real money in tournament poker is at the top – and I mean the top three places. Let me repeat that, "The real money in tournament poker is at the top." It's vital that you understand that. To get there, you have to open the blade and gamble. Obviously, I don't gamble enough.
My tournament observations are that aggressive, relentless, attacking players do the best, solid players are next best, and tight players fare the worst – by far. How many tight players have you ever seen win a tournament? The guys who are winning tournaments, such as Layne Flack, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and 2001 Player of the Year Men "The Master" Nguyen, are gambling far more than I, and most everyone else. And if they make it to the final table, they are going to get there with chips – and believe me, chips are power.
For further proof that "gambling it up" can be good, look at the results of the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em Five Diamond World Poker Classic (the inaugural event of the World Poker Tour) at Bellagio recently. I got an up-close look at the players over five days of play, as I was a commentator for the event. The top four finishers – Gus Hansen, John Juanda, John Hennigan, and Kassem "Freddie" Deeb – played lots of hands, far more than their share, especially Hansen and Hennigan.
These guys don't sit back and wait for aces and kings. They don't even wait for one ace or one king. They are relentless in their attack, chopping out pots and increasing their stacks. Then, all of a sudden, they flop a big duke with a garfunkel (a very weak hand) and win a big pot. Or, they may actually pick up a real hand and win another big pot. Their reward, based on their style, was winning a boodle. Granted, this aggressive style works best in no-limit poker; nevertheless, watching them play reinforced my opinion that gambling does pay.
So, now you are thinking, "Let me get this straight. I can gamble it up, play every pot, and win tournaments like these guys?" I wish I could tell you that's so, but it isn't. There is a method to their madness. First, you must be a great player to use this style successfully, and these guys are. Second, you must "know where you're at" at all times, and be able to get away from hands when necessary. Third, one of the premier strengths of top players is that their opponents can't put them on a hand. (If your opponent plays every pot, you sure can't put him on a hand.) This alone is venomous.
So, now you are thinking, "If you know all of this, why don't you fire it up when you play tournaments and do better yourself?" Well, it's easier said than done. It's hard for a leopard to change its spots, and it's hard for me to fire chips in like a machine gun. (They don't call me "M-60 Mike.") I'm getting better at picking up pots and gambling it up, but I also believe you must be comfortable with your style of play to have any success.
The point is that the most successful tournament players, the guys who are gambling it up, get to the No. 1 hole far more than their share – and that's what counts. Next time, I'll talk about how you might want to wake up and smell the coffee.
Take care.