In my first Steemit post on getting better at poker, I offered this one weird trick (only play poor hands in two circumstances -- find out those two circumstances here).
Here's a second basic lesson that I've been learning the hard way. It's sort of a variant of the first one.
When you play poker you are going to run into "stealers." Heck, you may even be one yourself.
What's a stealer? A player who raises during the first betting round -- in Texas Hold'em, that's after each player receives two hole cards but before the three-community-card "flop" -- in the hope of scaring the other players (hopefully all of them, but at least most of them) into folding right out of the gate.
Maybe he's got nothing (7-2 off-suit), or maybe he's got something marginal (a low pair), or maybe he's got the nuts (two aces). It's not so much about what he's got as about what he wants. He wants to win the money in the pot before those next three card comes out because that's the least risky time to win it. Even a pair of aces isn't going to win if the first three cards are kings and someone else has the fourth king in his hand.
One of the things about stealers is that they tend to be habitual. They don't pull that tactic one time in a game. They do it every time they think they can get away with it.
At a certain point, when that guy has stolen the last three pots, you're going to find yourself tempted to put him in his place. When he raises, you'll raise him. Heck, maybe you'll even go all-in. Yeah, having to fold his raise will teach him a lesson!
When you reach that point, here's what you need to do.
Look down at your hand.
Would you raise on that hand if someone wasn't trying to steal the pot?
Heck, would you even call on that hand if someone wasn't trying to steal the pot?
If you wouldn't ... don't!
Playing an inferior hand isn't a way to teach someone a lesson. It's just a way to lose at poker.
You're welcome.
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