Poker News

Jennifer Matiran

I was in a $300 buy-in no-limit cash game last Monday. I felt good and made all the right moves. Don’t you love it when that happens? I sure do. I played rock star poker that evening, fearless like a rock star but careful and wise at the same time.

I took my seat and the guy to my left tried to chit-chat with me repeatedly-about nothing. “Buddy, give me a break,” is what I thought. The man just would not zip it. When blinds came around he’d say things like, “Why don’t you straddle?” I’d smile, thinking I’d laugh later.

I was up a few hundred about an hour after I arrived. Motor mouth and I were heads up. I flopped top pair with the nut straight draw and I knew, I knew-I just knew-that he had a straight already, but not the nut straight. I checked and he bet $50. I called. And what do you know? I made my straight on the turn; it was bigger and better than his.

I checked. He bet a $100 and after a few seconds of hesitation-just for effect-I raised all-in. “I know you got two pair,” he said. Then he called. Cha-ching! The river was insignificant and I won all of his chips. Motor Mouth was stunned and finally silenced. So, being the ever so gracious winner that I am, I began talking to him.

I had all the right moves that evening and a great mindset. I discovered recently how powerful it is to focus on cards I want, versus the cards I do not want. I truly believe that one’s thoughts influence the outcome in poker. Our minds are oh so powerful, beyond what we can comprehend, so why wait until it’s scientifically proven to believe it? I know I’m not.

Have you noticed that whenever someone’s aces get cracked they always say, “I never win with aces?” In my opinion their aces lost because that’s precisely what they feel will happen. Or when someone says, “This dealer is bad luck for me,” the dealer turns out to be exactly that: bad luck. Negative thoughts are like a fish hook that should be avoided. Practice principles that will make you a winner.

Winners know when to leave. What’s the use of winning lots of money if you don’t get up and leave? One should always have a limit on what they will bring to the table and an amount they want to win before retiring from a table. Last Monday I knew how much I wanted to win before I quit and did exactly that. Don’t let the rush of winning suck you in; don’t stay too long after meeting your goal. We all see this day in day out, people winning, staying, and then giving it all back and then some.

Another lesson I’ve learned is not to be afraid, especially in no-limit. To be afraid of risking it all at the right time is paralyzing and will ultimately result in loss. I’m not saying be reckless, but you need to be fearless. Don’t be afraid of anybody. Be the player that everyone else fears. Winners trust theirabilities and instincts, and they are not fearful of putting it all on the line. Until we meet again, let’s make it a rock star summer…

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