Poker News

James McKenna, PhD.

Very often poker turns into a game of soccer. This happens when the player with the bigger kicker wins. When players learn their lessons from watching a tournament on TV, they see players coming in with one high card and a small unsuited card. Often players in these tournaments will play small suited cards. Of course, you and I know that the reasons these veteran players stay in with these “Soccer Hands” is due to the fact that they already have a ten thousand dollar ante and the blinds are as much as $50,000 and $100,000. So, the pot odds make it worth their chase.

However, when there are no pot odds and players routinely play these “Soccer Hands,” the better kicker wins more often. Also, the players with this loose play will end up being kicked. In real life, we call people like this “Kick Me” players. Their payoffs are getting kicked and feeling like victims. First of all, if you are a Kick Me player, you will play cards the same way and end up losing and feeling bad. So, let’s look at the game of Kick Me and see what your real playing agenda might be. Psychological games are played to collect a favorite lousy or righteous feeling at the end. In order to play, you need the corresponding gamer who is there to prove you are worst than he or she is. So, the game plan will call for a Kick Me player finding a Corner Player. That’s someone who likes to catch people making mistakes.

Here’re some questions to ask yourself to determine how much of a Kick Me player you are and how much you invite people to Corner you:

1) What keeps happening to you over and over that you don’treally want to happen? Example: “I keep coming in with second best hands and feel it’s not fair.”

2) How do you get started? Example: “I play a lot of what they call ‘No fold ‘em Hold ‘em.’”

3) And then what happens? Example: “I end up playing ‘head to head’ having top pair with a little kicker.”

4) What are you trying to say to the other players? Example: “Get out! Please! Don’t you know I’ve got top pair?”

5) And then what happens? Example: The other player is calling every bet and letting me build the pot.

6) What are the other players trying to say to you? Example: “I don’t have two pair and my kicker isn’t very high.”

7) How does it usually end? Example: “I’m beat by a larger kicker or two pair.”

What are you and the other players ending up feeling most of the time? Example: “I end up feeling surprised and with second best hand, I feel trapped and want to go hide someplace. The otherplayer is gloating and probably wondering what kept me in so long.”

Poker can be used to play psychological games and end up feeling bad. What is the feeling you most often bring from playing. Regardless of how much you won or lost, are you feeling depressed, elated, disappointed, pleased, or just plain glad you found a game? Some people simply enjoy the game and the comradery. Poker can be a currency to buy you good feelings or bad ones. What do you seem to be buying when you play hands that have a good chance of being second best? What are you shopping for at the poker table when you find some great bargains and are saving a lot of money?

If you want to change what is happening to you over and over, change the first question above to “What good things keep happening to me over and over?” Learn what you do when you are using poker to buy good feelings.

Filed under: Poker News