Making Your Own Luck

If you ask any of my poker buddies, I am the luckiest guy they know. I do have some wicked good parking karma, but the truth is I get the same arbitrary cards as everyone else. If you dealt all the hands randomly without betting, it would result in a relatively equal distribution of winning or losing hands. So what is the difference between having a winning Year or being in the red?

Know when your beat

The most significant difference between a profitable night at the poker table and walking away broke is folding a big hand when you are beaten. Every action throughout a hand reveals small bits of information about what possible cards your opponent holds. It's hard to lay down pocket aces, but if it's evident that your pocket rockets are behind, the best play is to fold. Minimize your losses and maximize your profits. 

Fortune favors the brave

I have a reputation for being the most aggressive player at the table. Almost every bet is a raise. Unless the goal is controlling the pot size, I will either raise or fold. Raising does two things. First, it allows me to win the hand without showing any cards if my opponents fold. Second, it builds the pot size. That will enable me to represent a wide range of cards, making it hard to know what I am holding. It also gets me paid off to maximize the profits on winning hands when we do showdown.   

Know Your Enemy

We have one player at the game that's tighter than a ducks butt. If he is raising, 98% of the time, he has a big hand. Other players are reckless from the start. With an understanding of how your competition plays, it's possible to play the player, not the cards. Some players will always call, no matter what, making them almost impossible to bluff. The more understanding you have of your competition behavior, the more significant advantage you hold.

Opportunity = Luck + Preparation

When you do flop a full-house, it's time to maximize your winnings in this hand. The odds are 1/1,087, so it won't happen often. By understanding how the other players will act, you can use those traits against them. Check to an aggressive player and let them build the pot for you. Bet small into a pot with many players to keep everyone in the hand. If you have the player that never folds, you can overbet the pot size and get paid off. Maximizing your winnings is second only to minimizing your losses.

These are great lessons from the poker table that applies to life outside the cardroom.