My philosophy on physical tells

I’m terrible at reading physical tells.  I’ve tried over and over to learn it and get in tune with this part of the game.  I’ve read Caro’s Book of Tells and watched the video a bunch of times as well as other books.  I’m just not getting it.

At this point, fuck it.  I don’t care and I don’t think I need to get good at that to dominate the game.  At least, I think that’s true for the limits I’m playing now and will play over the next couple years.

Here’s what I do with the whole physical tell game.  I think that if you are as bad at it as I am, this is a good way to neutralize that aspect of the game on both sides.

My behavior once I'm involved in a hand

Once I'm involved in a hand, I try to stay as silent and still as possible.  What I've done lately is pick a spot on the table and just stare at it.  Maybe I stare at the "V" in Venetian on the felt, a button on the automatic shuffler, or the table number.  I try to just zone out until it's my turn.  

This has a couple different benefits.  First, I'm looking in the direction of the flop but not actually seeing the flop itself.  I actually try to have my vision a little fuzzy if possible.  I can see face cards, a high number (8 through 10), a low number (ace - 3 - basically a lot of whitespace on the card).  But I can't tell exactly what the cards are or what the suits are.  This limits the amount of physical tells I'm giving off because I seriously don't know if I hit the flop or not.  

In fact, sometimes I'll bet out without truly seeing the flop.  For example, the other day I raised with 99.  I could see the flop was an ace and a high card (probably 9 or 10).  I either missed or crushed the flop.  It was heads up, so that additional information really wasn't going to help me.  I was planning on c-betting the flop regardless.  So why even take in that information and allow a physical tell to creep out?  If I know I'm betting anyway, getting that information can only hurt you.  So I just bet without that information.  In this case, I did flop a 9 and didn't get called, but I wouldn't have played it different if I saw the flop.

Second, I think it makes me look somewhat intimidating.  I'm not moving or saying anything.  People don't get any reactions out of me when they are moving their chips around or gesturing like they are going to call or fold, because I'm not paying attention.  It probably looks like I'm totally in the zone.  The reality is that I'm just waiting for my turn.

Another thing I'll do periodically is just randomly take more time on some decisions.  That way when I'm taking a lot of time, it's not always a critical decision.  If people are trying to read me and putting those instances together, it might mess them up. 

Trying to get called vs trying to get people to fold

I just don't play this game.  Period.  

It's the river and I have a monster, or I bluffed.  I put a big bet out and am waiting to see what happens.  Either way I'm staring at the flop waiting for my fate to be revealed.  I think that you probably can influence people one way or another by saying or doing specific things.  However, I don't know how to do that in a reliable way.  I think that peoples' minds have a way of creating their own insane realities that are way more out there than something I could put into their heads anyway.  So if people want to sit there and stare at me, talking themselves into calling or folding, I just let them do that.  No reason to add anything more into the equation.  

Paying attention to others

I literally don’t pay attention to what other people are doing, as far as their physical movements.  I try to block it out as much as possible.  If people say anything, I try not to take that into account at all either.  I’m basically playing online poker.

That's it.  Very simple.  Just don't pay attention and it doesn't affect you.

I realize this is not optimal.  However, I don't think poker is necessarily about doing everything optimally.  There's something to be said for finding a weakness in your game, and neutralizing it whether that is the optimal approach or not.  There are a lot of weaknesses in my game that I need to work on.  I'm prioritizing my use of physical tells very low at this point.  Maybe in the future I'll get to a point where winning and losing are separated by noticing the smallest twitch on an opponent's face, but I'm not there yet.  This approach allows me to avoid making emotional, bad decisions under the guise of "I KNOW he's bluffing".

More poker thoughts (written October 27)

I'm liking the idea of just talking general strategy and not always specific hands.  Here are a few more thoughts.

Playing tight

This can never be bad.  Think about it - when has anyone ever said "I really need to start playing KJo more - I'm just losing so much value".  Or "87s in middle position is such a dominating hand".  Never.  

Even hands like AJ, AQ in early position (or even facing a raise), JJ in early position - are these hands really that good?  What the hell do you do with JJ under the gun?  I'm playing it, but I just don't know that a raise even makes sense.

My point is that if you cut some of these hands out, especially when it just doesn't feel right, I think you are going to come out way ahead.  Even if you are breaking even with these overall, the mental stress you go through of mostly losing pots with these hands is huge.  And on the off chance where you flop T87 with your J9o, how often are you winning a monster pot?  It happens, but think about how often that happens vs how many times you flop a draw and miss, or flop a pair and have no idea where you are.  

Also think about this - yeah, you have KK, it's an amazing hand.  But on the flop or later in the hand, you're in a super tricky spot and don't know what to do.  You don't HAVE TO win money with that hand.  The other card could have easily been a 3, and if that happened, you wouldn't think twice about this hand.  Dwelling on what you have preflop is obviously a mistake.  If you feel that a hand is not going in the direction you want - people are WAY too interested in the hand, people are putting money in where they aren't just calling you, just fold!  Who cares.  Seriously folding after you put in $150 isn't going to hurt you that bad.  Calling off your whole stack will cost you $1000+, but even worse it will fuck you up mentally to where you think you can't even play well.  That's not a good spot to be in.

So for me, I'm just tightening up.  Last night this guy (probably a pro) was complaining that there was no action.  He says "what hands are you guys waiting for???" and I say "aces".  This guy is going to get pissed because the game isn't moving at the pace he wants, AND I'm conserving money.  These pros can't get my money if it's not in the pot.  

OK I guess I just had that one topic today.  Back to work, and maybe tonight I'm off to the poker tables!

Session report from Monday, October 26

Played some 2/5 last night at Venetian.  Had a few interesting hands.

Hand 1
Few people limp and I make it $20 with AQo.  3 callers and I'm in position.  Flop is AJT rainbow.  Checks to me, I bet 60.  Guy to my right calls.  Turn is a 3, no flush draw present.  He checks.  I figure I need to bet again because there are a lot of cards that might be scary.  I bet $100, he calls.  River is a 7.  We both check, he has AT.  Overall I'm fine with that hand.

Hand 2
I have JJ under the gun (always a good situation, not) and raise to $25.  The button calls.  He's a younger guy with headphones and appears to be pretty decent.  Playing a lot of pots and is somewhat aggressive.  We see the flop heads up and it's sick - AAJ.  I'm out of position and bet $35.  He calls.

I'm super stoked, but also a little afraid.  I think he probably has an ace.  Of course, any card that comes is scary because he might just have Axs and any card could make him a higher boat.  The turn is an 8.  I bet $100, he folds.

I'm happy with how I played this one too.  I went for the max value line assuming he had an ace.  Either he was floating me or it was an awesome fold, but I'm OK with it.  Also I have to protect myself a bit, I'm giving out pretty good reverse implied odds for him to hit his kicker.

Hand 3
Under the gun I limp with 88.  About 5 people see the flop, which is 663.  The blind bets $15 and I call.  We are now heads up.  The turn is a 4 and he checks.  I figure I probably have the best hand and a lot of river cards are scary, basically all of them are.  Actually I can't think of any that aren't.  Haha.  So I bet $35 and he calls.  River is a 2, so 45 gets there.  He checks, I check, he has K6.  No biggie.

Hand 4
I'm in the blind with Q5o and check.  We see the flop 5 ways.  Flop is K53 rainbow and it checks around.  Turn is a queen.  I bet 10, one guy calls, and now the next guy raises to 60.

I just fold.  Fuck it.  What can he have?  Here's what I figure he could have:
- AK (unlikely with no raise pre and no flop bet)
- KQ
- Flopped a set of 5s or 3s
- Lower 2 pair (53)
- K5 I guess, gross but it still beats me
- 46?  Seems unlikely because there was no flop bet

There's just nothing legitimate that I beat.  So fuck it, I fold.  I get it that 2 pair is super strong.  But if that guy is this excited about the hand, I'm just letting it go.  I think this was a great fold.

Hand 5
I have 2 red kings and raise to 20.  2 callers.  Flop is J73 with 2 diamonds.  First guy checks, I bet $30, next guy calls, first guy now check-raises to $90.

I'm thinking he could have a set, something like AJ, or a flush draw.  I raise to $200 with the intention of folding to another raise, and he calls.  We are now heads up.  I have about $700 or so behind.  Kind of an awkward amount, but my plan is to bet the turn big if a diamond doesn't hit.

Turn is a jack and he instantly bets 4 black chips.  I fold.  That's fine, I think I made a great raise on the flop and probably was ahead then.  I seriously doubt this guy is getting 3 bet on the flop and now leads out $400 with just a flush draw.  No fucking way.

Hand 6
I had been getting beaten down all night and was down about $400 at this point with $925 or so in front of me.  I have been folding a lot.  Had to fold to a reraise twice preflop, once with KQ where I opened to $20 and got raised to $60.  Then another time where a guy raised to $20, I reraise to $60 with AK, and the next guy makes it $240 and I fold.

I get KK again and raise to $20.  2 people call, and the same guy from Hand 5 now raises to $80 from the blinds.  Fuck yeah.  Well, hopefully fuck yeah.  Haha.  Folds back to me and I put out $225 in green.  He calls.  Awesome.  I feel like I'm most likely ahead right now because AA would probably raise.  Although not raising could be a great move.

Flop is perfect, TT7.  Not scary at all.  He checks and I bet $200.  He check-raises to $400, and I go all in.  He snap calls.  He flips up QQ.  I say "I've got you for now" and turn up the KK.  Turn ten, river ace, ship it mother fucker.  I went from being down $400 to being up about $600.

This was a great session.  I played well, folded a LOT when pressure was on me, stayed out of trouble, and capitalized when I had it.  That's what poker is all about, right?  I'm feeling so confident right now at the tables.  Can't wait for the next session.

Some poker thoughts

I'm back!  It's been a long time since I wrote a poker blog.  This weekend I played more poker than possibly any weekend ever, and it really got me excited about getting back into playing again.

While analyzing individual hands is good, I also think it might be useful for me to just write down some of the general poker thoughts I had from playing this weekend.

Drinking
You should never drink and play poker if you care about winning.  I guess that's all there is to say about drinking, pretty simple.

Playing big pairs passively preflop
I think I'm going to start playing AA/KK more passively preflop in certain situations.  Sure, it would be great to get a ton of money in preflop with those hands.  However, how many times have you gotten AA or KK, reraised someone preflop, they fold, and you didn't even feel like they would call you when you raised?

For example, a few people limp and someone directly to your left raises.  You can reraise, which will probably get the pot heads up.  Of course, the raiser might fold too.  But is it SO bad if you just call the raise and a bunch of other people call too?  Now you have a ridiculously strong hand, it's SUPER well disguised, and the pot is way bigger.

For example, under the gun.  If you raise AA/KK under the gun, that's fine of course.  However, it looks like you have a really strong hand.  If you just limp, it probably looks like you have a pair.  But even if your opponent knows you have a pair, that doesn't really help them.  In fact, it just makes them more anxious.  Now it's just a game of - did you flop a set or not.

With AA specifically, how bad could it be if you just limp under the gun or in early position, and go all in when it comes back to you if there was a raise?  You're going to win the pot 99% of the time which isn't that bad.  And if someone has KK, they may call you for their whole stack because it's impossible to fold.

If you start limping AA/KK with plans to either limp-reraise or just see a flop, that also makes all of your other limps with pairs or suited connectors much scarier.

I'm certainly not saying I want to always limp AA/KK.  But under the gun, maybe it's a better option.  You're out of position so why build a huge pot?  It's not easy to play post-flop.

If I'm on the button, I think raising is pretty much always best unless there is a raise directly to your right and you want to get more people in the pot.  But under the gun, or out of the blinds, why build a huge pot when you are just going to be out of position?  From the blinds maybe a MASSIVE raise is OK, to try to get it heads up with a hand you dominate (smaller pair, AK).  But even then you're out of position which is never easy to deal with.

Main point here is - you don't NECESSARILY have to play all of your big pairs super aggressive preflop.

Showing cards
You should never show your cards.  Under no circumstances will this ever benefit you.  The challenge is that it's hard to do this, because there are so many situations where you just REALLY want to show your hand.  You had a super strong hand, like you flopped quads.  Or you want to show someone a bluff to show them how stupid they are for folding to you.

That's fun, but it doesn't really benefit you.  You could argue that showing a bluff will benefit you by making the other person upset.  However, I think that goes away so fast that it's not worth it.  You won't be able to take advantage of that tilt very often.  You're better off just not showing that bluff so it's easier for you to pull off the next bluff.

Have you EVER thought you were so happy you showed your cards because you gained some strategic advantage over someone else?  I can't think of a time that was true for me.  I can just think of times I've shown cards and enjoyed it for fun, but I guarantee it benefits my opponents more than me.

On the flip side, I think if you really want to, it's OK to tell people what you had.  The reason I think this is OK is that there will always be some doubt in their mind because they didn't see the cards.  So this is nowhere near as big of a deal as actually showing the cards.

Defending (or not defending) your blinds
I have NEVER EVER heard ANYONE say something along the lines of : "Man, I lost $1000 last night playing 2/5.  I just didn't get anything and these fucking guys kept stealing my blinds".  That literally never happens.

However, I HAVE said this about a billion times : I called my small blind, or called a small raise out of the big blind, and then somehow lost a monster pot.  Or some aggressive guy raised the button, I reraised out of the blind with a pair or even a decent-ish hand like AT, he doesn't fold, and I lose a big pot.

Let's look at the reraise first.  If the button raises and it's a good aggressive player, sure they will fold sometimes when you reraise.  So they make it $20 in a 2/5 game, you make it $60, they fold.  OK.  You won $20.  Was that really so important?

And the flip side of that same coin - button opens to $20, you reraise to $60 with a decent hand, he calls.  Now you're out of position against a good player in a bloated pot.  Is that a good situation to be in?  I think it's obvious that this is NOT a good position.

So you have two options : lose either $2 or $5 (option 1), or flip a coin between winning $20 or being in a $120 pot out of position and uncomfortable (option 2).  In my opinion it's worth the $5 to just get out of this situation.

Sure, maybe at some point in my poker career I'll be playing high enough stakes where everything is preflop and stealing blinds is a big deal.  I'm not there yet at 2/5, and I doubt it will get to that point at 5/10 or 10/20 either.  Yes, I will be losing money in the blinds.  No question.  But you're probably going to lose money out of the blinds no matter what.

Bailing when it feels bad
You often get in situations where it does NOT feel good.  You have KK, you bloated the pot preflop (which I would debate the value of anyway) and now you're facing a big bet on some random board.  Maybe someone flopped a set, maybe they are betting a draw, maybe they are straight up bluffing.  What do you do?

Even if you have put a decent amount of money into the pot, whatever.  Losing a big preflop and flop bet is much better than losing your whole stack.  It's not like every pot you play will have you in this terrible situation where your heart is racing and you're torn between folding and potentially winning a massive pot.  How many times have you just cruised through a hand and it was super easy, and you win a nice pot?  That happens a lot.  So when you are in the situation where it feels really bad and you know it's a marginal spot, especially on the flop, whatever.  If you bail I don't think that's the worst thing in the world.  Conserve that stack and wait for the next spot.

Again, if people are taking advantage of you constantly, this strategy will not work.  But I don't think you need to worry about that at the 2/5 level.  And maybe you lay down more to the really good players.  That's fine, you don't need to give them a chance to take your whole stack.  Play hands against the shittier players and if you're going to take chances, take chances against the guy who is drinking and who you have seen try some big bluffs earlier in the session.  Not the young guy with headphones that has been 3 betting people preflop.

That's it for me for today.  I'll hopefully get a chance to play some 2/5 this week!