Poker News

John Vorhaus

Don’t Play Like I Play!

As you know, I’ve written some poker books, and sometimes people buy these books from me in person when I play. Whenever I happen to sell a book, I’ll sign with this semi-tongue-incheek advice:”Don’t play like I play.”

I say”semi-” tongue-in-cheek because, frankly, I think that most players would do better following my books’ guidelines than by directly modeling their play on mine. This is not because I’m a terrible player (though I do confess that,”As a poker player I’m a pretty good writer.”) Rather it’s because I often make moves which seem right to me, and for me, but which are hard to justify or clarify in print.

Take 9-8 suited and my grandstand tendency to raise with that hand. It’s a dangerous move that often puts me perilously out ahead of my hand. I can hardly recommend it as practical and prudent. But when my position and opposition are both right for the move I’ll make it every time.

It has a lot to do with image. Maybe I’ve been projecting”I didn’t drive all the way from Pacoima to fold” man, or maybe”Mister Killer Poker” guy, or maybe”last float on the clueless parade.” Whatever image I’ve been selling, there’s a close harmony between that image and the”mistakes” I willfully make. And that harmonic convergence of image, cards, position and foes is too subtle and vaporous to teach - or possibly just too flat-out incorrect to teach responsibly.

And yet… and yet… I do stubbornly insist that the 9-8 raise is nota terrible raise to make, uniquely and particularly in games where most of your foes are playing so-called “wheelhouse” cards; cards from ten up. If you raise in early position with 9-8 suited and get calls from A-T, K-Q, Q-J, etc., a flop that hits your hand will miss theirs, and vice versa. An 8-7-6 flop, for instance, does a lot more good for you than it does for callers with, admittedly, superior hands. And, admittedly, you’re vulnerable to overcard hits on the turn and the river. But when the board hits you hard, and you can show down 9-8 as a winner, you get paid two ways: you win the pot, plus you fortify your image as lucky or tilty or clueless, so that the next time you raise (with a big pocket pair) they’ll pay you off again.

Let’s be clear: Even though I like this play, I’m not advocating it in print. What I am advocating is that you ask yourself this question: What works for you? What moves do you feel comfortable making? Do you like to sit back and wait for good cards? Is the game sufficiently straightforward that that strategy pays? They by all means follow it through. Are you a bully by nature? Can you scare timid foes with big bets and make them go away? Then this is how you should play. Each of us is an actor in a poker game, and roles aligned to our true nature are the ones which serve us best. I’m a kind of a crazy guy, so kind of crazy playsseem right for me-but they might not be right for you.

Bottom line, then: Don’t play like I play, but do play like you play; and keep looking for new ways to maximize your strengths. Some of your moves might end up looking kookie to others, but they don’t know your true nature, and the assumption that you’re wrong is just a mistake they’ll make.

Filed under: Poker News