Poker News

Jennifer Matiran

“If I was a rich girl, na, na, na, na, na, see I’d have all the money in the world if I was a wealthy girl…Think what that money would bring, I’d buy everything.” Now, I’m not a materialistic girl by nature but this Stefani song was playing over and over in my heart the other day at the casino. I was born a grand dreamer, I cannot helpit, it’s the way my soul is wired so when something extraordinary happens like it did that day, I can’t help but think of the possibilities? “If I was a rich girl.”

In life, there is no-limit, absolutely no-limit, if you believe. For example, one day you can wake up in the morning and find that all the pain has mysteriously vanished, poof, it’s gone. Or you could get that call you’ve been waiting for and find yourself, finally right at that moment where your dreams are coming true. Wow, imagine that. Or you could find yourself looking into the eyes of that exquisite man or woman that you thought existed only in fairy tales then, to your utter delight you’d find that he or she feels the same way about you. Yes ladies and gentlemen, there is absolutely no-limit to what can happen if we only believe. We as human beings cannot even fathom the goodness that awaits us.

“JM for no-limit one hundred dollar buy in.” I hear over the loud speaker and continued towards table 41-ahh sweet table 41 where I was to make my mini fortune that day. That afternoon, I was receiving fairly good cards but in no-limit there are many other factors to consider. One must consider position, are you trying to set a trap for your opponents or are you attempting to scare off the competition by making it too expensive for them to see another card? How much money is in the pot? Are you trying to milk a few extra bucks from the enemy? Do you have the best hand and want to go all-in because you sense he has a strong hand and he might call? Decisions, decisions.

Eventually, in no-limit games one comes to a point where they need to decide, I call it the make you or break you point. I was up a couple hundred. Someone raised pre-flop, I called with an Ace/Queen off-suit. The flop came Ace/Queen/nine rainbow. The raiser bet twenty-five dollars, a couple people called and I said, “Let’s make it a hundred.” Everyone but the raiser folded. In fact, the raiser decided to go all-in. Then, the little voice inside kept telling me “do it, do it, do it” and I did, I called, making the pot hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Turn came, six and river, came six, my opponent had Ace/King making him two pair, Aces and Sixes but I had Ace/Queen, top two pair…Boom! And that’s when the song started playing “If I was a rich girl.” I mean, it wasn’t like I was rich enough to retire or quit my day job but I had enough dough to buy me a new pair of shoes. Oh, I forgot, make sure when you win big, that you tip big too. That’s how you’ll win again in the future; outflow equals inflow, I don’t know why that works but that’s just the way it is. Oh, oh, I forgot one more very crucial element to being a winner…you must getup and leave; do NOT sit at the table of victory for too long. The baby animal cute boy next to me teased and said, “We’re letting a girl beat us.” That’s when I realized, I was a target and I started racking up to leave. See, I find the dynamics of no-limit fascinating because in a limit game one cannot lose more than specified amount but in no-limit, I can risk it all in hopes of winning it all. No-limit is not for weak or the faint heart; one cannot be a scared cat and win. You must listen to your instincts and trust them to guide you to victory just as in real life.

Until next time, “may you realize that you are one of the most marvelous of all creations and there is no-limit to what you are capable of achieving.”

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