A Game of People Played with Cards

Most people consider poker to be a game of cards, played with people. Actually, the opposite is more accurate. Poker is really a game of people, played with cards.

Certainly you need to master the basics of good play. If you're just getting started, that will be your focus. Get a few good books and work through them carefully. Practice online at the lowest-stakes tables.

Once you know what cards to play when, all things being equal, realize that all things are seldom equal. "Equal" in this case means you have no idea what cards your opponent might have, except by observing his bets. If you know what to look for, you have much more information available to you. In poker, that information is known as tells.

If you think tells are rare, think again. Even the pro's have tells that are routinely exploited by their competition. The first few times I played poker, I was so focused on the new environment and on correct basic play that I didn't spot a single tell. In fact, I was probably sending out my own tells like a searchlight. Then it happened. A young marine next to me looked at his pocket cards, and his hand went straight for his chips and actually began to shake. I realized this is a sign of uncontrolled excitement and wondered if I had seen my first tell. When he turned over pocket kings and raked in a large pile of chips, I knew I had.

Old pro's claim poker is 30% cards and 70% people. I couldn't agree more. A single poker book opened my eyes to how this works. It's not a book about cards, it's a book about people. Written by a former FBI profiler who now consults to the top Poker pro's. If you buy any one poker book, make it a good book on how to play your cards right. But if you buy a second book, get Read Them and Reap. After you master the basics of the game, learning its lessons will improve your bottom line substantially.

As a closing anecdote, let me relate a hand I played a few weeks back. There was a young player at the table who must have fancied himself a WPT pro. He had the hooded sweatshirt and fashionable sunglasses, the practiced stone face, and an aggressive betting style. I was dealt KQ of spades. The flop added the J6 of spades and one garbage card, giving me a draw to the second-best flush. I perked up and gladly called his raise. The came the flop, the A of spades. I had the "nut" (best) flush. Excited, I turned toward the table, leaned in, eagerly reached for my chips every time I could bet, raised and reraised like there's no tomorrow, and sent off every other signal in the book that I had a good hand. Then came the river, and with it the T of spades. I had a Royal Flush! There was no way I could lose this hand, and I was practically jumping out of my seat when he raised me and I reraised. It has never been more thrilling to turn over my pocket cards. And I was extremely thankful that my opponent had not read the book I'm recommending to you. If he had, he would have known that he was beat long before he lost around $100 to me in one hand.