Page 12 - January 2009 • Southern California Gaming Guide
P. 12

January 2009 Poker Plays (Continued)
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draws against you, he has to pay a lot. When he hits, he can’t make up the same amount of implied odds since your bets have been bigger.
Although I warn often about the perils of playing out of position, you can often draw out of position against this sort of player because his small bets lay you a great price at every juncture.  is player’s habits can be exploited—especially if he pays o  big at the end—because the pot odds often warrant a call without even considering implied odds (money you will make later in the hand if your draw completes).
Over the next few columns, I am going to discuss some of the bad habits that casual and home game players have. Besides trying to exploit these weaknesses in others, monitor your own habits and see if you can improve your game with some adjustments.
You can buy Jim’s  lm Hard Scrambled at www.hardscrambled.com or if you like his column, contact him at jim@jamespmercurio.com.
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Jim Mercurio: Poker
TIheory of Relativity—How Much?
s $50 a big bet? Huh? I don’t even know how to answer that question. If the blinds are 1–2 and a player goes all in for $50 and you have 45s, it seems like a big bet. If someone bets $50 into a $400 pot on a 36A board, and there have been two callers and you are closing the
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action, the $50 seems like a ridiculous underbet.
But as obvious as that seems to me, that the size of a bet should be weighed relative to the situation, some home game players still think in terms of absolutes. For instance, in a $200 1–2 buy-in game, some players consider $50 a big bet. So if there is $60 in the pot, and they river the nuts, they will bet $50—a nice value bet. But the same players in a four- way $140 pot with players willing to contest, they will also bet $50 as a value bet or to protect their hand.
the fact that many home games are social events. If a player’s goal isn’t to destroy the opponent (like a pro tries to do in a casino), then maybe the player’s mindset is “Hey, I am happy winning $50 in this hand although I know I could get $120.”
Against players like this, you can often draw cheaply. If there is $15 in the pot on the  op and he bets $15 and, let’s say, you miss your draw. Well, if he bets $20 into a $45 pot on the turn, you are still
In a $60 pot, a $50 bet gives lousy odds to a straight or  ush draw that needs in the neighborhood of 4:1 to call. But in a $200 dollar pot, a $50 bet gives a  ush or straight draw great odds to call, even if they don’t make a cent after they hit.  e size of a bet in poker needs to take into account, among many things, the size of the pot.
“A player who thinks in terms of absolute values and bets small (relative to the pot size) when he is protecting a hand or value betting but yet will pay off big (relative to the pot size) is one of the easiest players to play against. When you draw against him and miss, you lose a little. When you hit, you get
paidbig.”
getting a good price to draw.  e last piece of information you need to know how to play against this player is will he then only call a relatively small bet or will he call a relatively large bet. If the player was comfortable making small $15 bets, now that the pot is $105, willhepayo a$90bet or will the absolute size of a $90 bet scare him away?
A player who thinks in terms of absolute values and bets small (relative to the pot size) when he is protecting a
 ere are many possible
reasons that players
do this.  ey could be
cheap—I mean money-
conscious. Maybe $50 is
a lot of money to them, regardless of the pot-size. So they assume that if $50 is a bet that would make them uncomfortable to call, then it must make the opponent uncomfortable to call also. It might also be due to
hand or value betting but yet will pay o  big (relative to the pot size) is one of the easiest players to play against. When you draw against him and miss, you lose a little. When you hit, you get paid big. When he
Page 12
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
January 2009
Poker: Wired Aces and River Rats Poker Plays (Continued)


































































































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