The Player
What kind of person is a player? We can define a player as a person who enjoys taking risks and getting maximum out of anything he does, no matter if it is poker, gambling in general, business, investing, relationships, going out with friends etc. He simply has a great DGAF attitude towards most things, and makes his plays based on the info available at the current time. A player will overcome his fear of failure when jumping into the action, and for the most part, other people see him as a confident person. The downside of being a player is, you can start to feel invincible due to recent success – this leads to bad risk management, and as a result, you can lose everything.
But, in a society we are living in, it’s not like the end of the world really, as long as you don’t die or go to the prison for a long time. A player might also have some particular domain expertise and be very confident in that context, but lack confidence in other areas of life (which he might neglect due to not being interested in them).
A hand example of me playing like a player:
Hand number 1
Starting point: Play has been very loose, hero lacks sleep a lot but manages to stay awake NLHE 1/1€ blinds, effective stacks around 150€ with villain.
Hero HJ: Q♠ J♣
UTG+1 limps, UTG+2 limps, Hero makes it 9€, blinds call, limpers call
Flop: T♣ 7♥ 7♣
Checks around
Turn: 8♥
SB bets 14€, folds, Hero calls, heads-up to the river
River: 8♠
SB bets 24€ very quickly, Hero raises to 80€, SB folds quite quickly, BTN asks ‘really, tens full?’ and it’s too much – hero has to show the bluff.
The Grinder
Grinder. It’s a word that awakes different feelings for me, but life many times about first learning the right strategy for grinding, and then being patient in getting results. Stay on that frickin road you’ve chosen, don’t turn, no matter what! Africans say go big or go home, but grinders say go small and go far. Grinders approach poker in a very systematic way, and are many times working their asses off. Probably you’ve recognized yourself at this point if you are one.
Ever heard about a grinder called Leather ass? Yes, you’ve probably guessed it – Dusty was one of the first true online grinders. Google him if you want to find more, he has written a few books on poker – rather good ones.
Being a grinder is a way of life. Grinders are not perhaps superstars like players, but they can become superstars at some point if they grind long enough. Or at least they get to pay half their way through law school, if you know what I mean. If you don’t, watch the movie Rounders. Speaking of Rounders, there is one BIG downside to being a grinder. As Matt Damon put it best:
”But finally I’ve learned this: if you’re too careful your whole life can become a fuckin’ grind.”
Not willing to take any risks? You’re not getting any rewards either. Not socially, financially, not in any way. And that’s the dilemma of being a grinder – should you be comfortable with your current level of results, or reach higher and be willing to fail?
Here’s a hand where I was fully aware I might fail. I did, but in an unexpected way that ended
being good for me.
Hand number 2
Starting point: Table is active with various interesting playing styles. NLHE 2.5/2.5€ blinds, effective stacks 550eur with villain.
Hero HJ: 8♣ 7♣
UTG+1 limps, Hero makes it 12.5€, BTN calls, UTG limp-raises to 35€, Hero calls, BTN calls
Flop: T♣ 7♥ 4♠
Checks around
Turn: 6♣
UTG bets 50€, Hero calls, BTN folds
River: T♠
UTG bets 120€, Hero raises all-in to 450€ ish, UTG tanks and announces ‘Hero call’ – Hero shows pair of sevens and it’s good against AQ high.
Analysis: Bluff-raises on the river can fail, but they can also be called by worse.
Don't be a Pussy
How do you know if you belong to the third group, the pussies? Quite simple: You don’t give your 100% at anything in life, but rather try to get away by doing the minimum in order to survive. There’s no strive to get better, no drive to contribute, and you’d rather get the reward without any effort.
”Amarillo Slim, the greatest proposition gambler of all time, held to his father’s maxim… “You can shear a sheep many times, but skin him only once.” Gotta bet my jacks. This is a lesson Worm’s never bothered to learn. And that’s why Worm always goes for the easy prize, not thinking about the long-term consequences of his actions at all.
Is there anything wrong about this way of life? Not necessarily, but if you follow the advice from a famous philosopher of Marcus Aurelius, this is the exact way of life that is worse than just dying:
”It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”
Enough of the quotes for today, let’s see ‘hand histories’:
Hand number X, Y and Z
Starting point: You’re playing against your everyday opponents, who are not so great at poker – but wait a minute, does that make you a champion?
NLHE 2.5/2.5€ blinds, effective stacks 350eur with villain.
Hero HJ: Two Uno cards (that’s right, Uno cards don’t have any value in poker) UTG+1 limps, Hero makes it 12.5€, UTG+1 calls
Flop: J♣ 8♠ 6♥
Checks around
Turn: 4♥
UTG bets 17.5€, DOES Hero raise here from time to time WITHOUT THE GOODS?
NLHE 2.5/2.5€ blinds, effective stacks 350eur with villain.
Hero BTN: Two Uno cards
HJ raises to 7.5, Hero 3bets to 27.5€, UTG+1 calls
Flop: Q♣ 8♠ 3♥
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets 40% of the pot, UTG+1 calls
Turn: T♥
UTG+1 checks, DOES Hero bet big here with a plan to follow-up on the river from time to time WITHOUT THE GOODS?
NLHE 2.5/2.5€ blinds, effective stacks 350eur with villain.
Hero BTN: Two Uno cards
Hero raises to 7.5€, BB 3bets to 32.5€, Hero calls
Flop: K♠ 6♣ 5♥
BB bets 25€, Hero calls
Turn: 9he
BB checks, DOES Hero bet here with a plan to follow-up on the river from time to time WITHOUT THE GOODS?
If you answered NO to any of these questions, you’re likely used to playing against competition that you can win against by playing ABC poker and not bluffing much. That might help you win some money at these stakes, but what happens when you take a shot on higher stakes where the regs are tougher? While that does depend a lot on how well you run, you should study the game on a deeper level to understand just HOW aggressive you need to be with your equity.
Your unbalanced ranges with mostly value hands are not going to get paid off as much as at your normal stakes (unless you manage to isolate some maniac or loose passive guy). Watch some high-stakes HU Holdem battles or final tables of big tournaments, and see if those guys are aggressive WITHOUT THE GOODS from time to time.
Value-betting well is still the most important weapon to beat poker at pretty much every level, as there are very few players who make more mistakes by folding than by calling – yet it should definitely not be your only weapon.
