Everything Poker

In the game of poker one needs to seek out knowledge to continue to maintain an edge. There are three types of knowledge. The things you know. The things you don’t know. The things you don’t know that you don’t know. This third area is where you need to look to reach for fresh ideas. Whether you have a huge pile of chips or only a lone clay poker chip set on the poker table in front of you, keep your brain focused on the cards and also outside the box.

Keep up this pursuit of knowledge while away from the table to ensure you get every last poker chip you deserve. Sources come in many forms. Conversations with other players are a great resource. There’s a multitude of poker books on the market. The internet’s a booming source of forums, instructional sites and videos. It’s tough to turn on a TV without find something poker related. Comparing general life situations to poker is a great exercise.

One concept along these lines from my own experience I learned a few years into my poker career from a professional poker player friend of mine. It turned out that I had a leak in my game. It’s a mathematical concept that once I heard I was kicking myself for not having perceived it myself. On a humorous note, he was from Vegas and his name was Chip. So our circle called him Las Vegas Chip.

At the poker table I’ve always made decisions considering math. If I had 22 and I was put to the test for all of my clay chips pre-flop versus a weaker player whom I felt had just overcards I would call. My mindset was that I mathematically had the best hand so I had to call.

Chip sets me up with a lot of great advice and this was no exception. What Chip explained to me was that if that other player is one I should beat 75% of the time I should not give a 50% chance to defeat me. Sometimes the simplest concepts are right under your nose.

This also had an impact for me from a reverse point of view. In situations where I knew I was against a very good player who may have, say, an 80% advantage over me I’d now be willing to take more risks. A chance to double up through this player with only a 40% chance of taking the pot now looked great. This concept has positively impacted the size of my Texas Holdem poker chip stack in many games.

This is an excellent strategy to battle players who have a significant advantage over you. It adds joy to the game too. It’s a great feeling when you call with rags only to double your chips against the best player at the table then watch him fume as he sees his last world poker chip set down on your stack!