Two Cute Moves

Some guys are always trying "cute" moves - little tricks to fool opponents. I generally dislike such play but once in a blue moon I pull a cute move out of my bag. Cute moves tend to work in a negative correlation to how often you use them: if you almost never try these little stunts then your opponents are much more likely to fall for them.

Cute move #1: I think you are bluffing. You can use this one either at the real tables or on-line. It actually seems to work best on-line, where players make decisions faster. Beware that anyone who has been around the block a few times has probably seen it before. Think of it like the four move checkmate in chess and don't pull it out unless you are playing relative newbies.

You flop (or turn) a monster and someone makes a big raise at you. Stare intently at you opponent, try to look intimidating and mean (admittedly hard to do on-line). Growl (or type) something like "You hit that?" or "Trying to push me out, huh?". Take a little time to ponder and then just call. More often than not, your opponent will not back down on the next street but will make an even bigger raise. Your act will convince your opponent you are vulnerable (if you weren't vulnerable, why did you try to intimidate?) - very basic reverse psychology that almost always works against inexperienced players.

Cute move #2: What did you say? The best cute moves just come to you out of the blue. The poker muse touches you and you don't think but just act. I'm sure I didn't invent this cute move, but it came to me in a flash and it worked to perfection. This works best if your table image is a little loose or, as was the case with me, you just sat down and are an unknown quantity.

Like in move #1, you flop (or turn) a monster. In my case I was playing pocket 5's against three opponents and the flop was 5 4 5 - giving me quads. I was pretending to be engrossed in something else when the guy before me bet $25 (about half the pot), I shook my attention back to the table and asked "How much to call?" (a beautiful question! It assumes that I'm not even considering a raise!) "$25" said the dealer and I feign relief, "Oh, I thought he said $95! I call."...and I went on to make about $150 on the hand.

Obviously both these moves can only be pulled out when the situation is absolutely perfect. Don't go into your next session with the idea of trying one out because you can't plan to be cute - it just doesn't work. For me a cute move only comes once in a thousand hands, so you have to be very patient and when you feel the time is right, don't think. Just act.