A poker player must be willing to take risks in order to win at America's favorite card game.
While I realize that players go to extraordinary lengths in order to protect themselves from losses, there is an element of chance in poker that can lead either to big losses or great wins. Lady Luck doesn't always come to the bold, but she can be won under the right circumstances.
Let me get personal. I have both good and bad sessions at the poker tables. When I lose, the journey home gets a lot longer and I try to memorize hands to find out why Lady Luck abandoned me. By the way, I recommend this approach to all poker players. It helps keep you on the straight and true path to poker glory.
Here are some of the things I find in this analytical approach.
TOO MANY HANDS. If you play too many iffy hands, there is no way to beat the odds. Omaha High-Low is a good example. When I have a losing session I find myself putting in the money on hands like 2-3-9-10. Even if it's double-suited, this is a poor hand to play that will generally cost you money. Even a hand like A-3-5-10 is not a hand that you can expect positive results. If you find yourself throwing chips into the pot with such hands, shame on you. It's time to retire to the bar for a Starbucks cup of coffee or a drink.
If the game you are playing is Texas Hold'em and you find yourself playing Q-10 or raising with K-Q and losing, you may not exactly be on tilt but you're close.
Some days the right combination of cards simply won't come your way. That is why patience is so important in this game. Players need to wait for those rushes to happen. A rush occurs when you get hands like A-A-2-3 or A-2-3-5 suited, giving you a chance to make both a high and a low hand.
When you get such a hand, you need to build the pot. If there is a raise in front of you, sometimes just call it. If you decide to re-raise, I will not criticize you. A good flop will win you a nice stack of chips.
Let's say you have A-A-2-3 double suited and you flop a low drawing hand to a straight flush. A player comes out betting and gets two callers. When it's your turn to act, what should you do.
If you don't raise, you should find another game to play. Seriously.
Hands like 2-3-9-10 are not playable in Omaha High-Low, even though I must admit I played them in my last losing session. Like the Kenny Rogers song goes, 'You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.'
And now let me share a true story with you about two chief executive officers who were playing in a pot limit Omaha game during the last World Series of Poker. This was reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and here is what happened.
The players were Rodney Spriggs, CEO of Vintage Stock Inc. of Joplin, MO. and Jon Isaac, CEO of a NASDAQ traded holding company called Live Ventures Inc.
During the $1-2 pot limit game, they began talking about their businesses. The more they talked, the more they realized they had some financial goals in common. After the game was over, they exchanged business cards and began negotiating.
The result was a stunning $60 million business deal that raised Live Ventures' assets to $120 million. The deal was for 100 percent of Vintage Stock and it closed in November 2016, just three months after their poker meeting.
The men complimented each other on their poker skills. Spriggs added ruefully that he was a $1,500 winner before Isaac sat down at the table. Isaac won most of the money from him. It was peanuts compared to the money he and his company realized from the business deal.
'Like business, poker is a long-term game,' said Isaac, 34. 'You may win or lose individual hands or sessions, but if you take risks when the odds are in your favor, you will make money long-term.
'Both involve quick math, instinct and the heart to make a big move when the timing is right.'
Both men agreed that the merger was a perfect fit between the companies.
'If I would have beat him,' Spriggs said, 'the deal might never have been made.'
I love this story. Long live the risk takers.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to [email protected] ).
