Funniest thing I heard all day
Some of you know that I take my poker game very seriously. I’ve been working for four years on my game, through books, occasional coaches, analysis, and tons of practice. I recently picked up a new poker coach and he said something that I found hysterical.
"If you enter the pot and your opponents aren’t afraid of you, then you shouldn’t enter the pot."
He didn’t mean that my opponents should be afraid of my big cards. He meant that they needed to have no idea what I might be playing and be unable to deduce my hand, and therefore not know how to play their own cards.
He advocates a play style that I recognize from watching from Sam Farha on High Stakes Poker, where he can just as easily be betting absolutely nothing as much as the stone cold nuts. He analyzed about 5,000 hands and told me I’m not bluffing enough (if ever) and that I should really be mixing up my game. The problem being that when I enter a pot and people know I’m strong, they know to fold. Playing with me for an hour or two and being slightly observant will tell you this.
So his point was that I’m predictable. Being predictable makes it easy to play around me.
And he gave me homework. I don’t mind.